Back In Black
by Zarthor563
Summary: Two years after Thrax's defeat, Adam is given another mission by the Sentinel Knight, one that will lead him to question everything, and lead him to find something he has been missing.
1. Crown of the Gods

**Synopsis: Two years after Thrax's defeat, Adam Park is given another mission by the Sentinel Knight…One that will lead him to question everything, and reveal to him what he has been missing all these years.**

**A/N: This chapter takes place primarily in Newtech City; the next chapter will be in the present. This is my second story, and I'm still working the kinks out of my writing style, so please review, anything you guys have to say would be really helpful.**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE: CROWN OF THE GODS

NEWTECH CITY, 2027

Two years have passed since Grumm's defeat, and since then things have been pretty quiet on Earth. Aside from the petty crimes of small time criminals, Earth has been peaceful, and has had no need for Power Rangers. So, for the most part, Commander Schuyler Tate, Sky for short, has had an easy time of it.

Cadets saluted Sky as he made way through the halls of the SPD Earth Base; he barely registered them. He felt the weight of the Red Chrono morpher on his left hand; since Cruger still possessed the Shadow Ranger powers, and Bridge was B-Squad's Red Ranger, Sky now used his father's old morpher. It was lighter than his old Delta Scanner, and sometimes the difference disoriented him. Sky stopped at the door to his old room, and knocked.

"Come in," a voice said. Sky entered to find Bridge Carson doing a handstand in the corner, the Ranger's usual thinking position. He righted himself as soon as he saw Sky.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Sky told him. "A valuable artifact is being transferred to the museum, and the artifact's owner has requested protection for the shipment. Routine stuff, really."

"And you want me to do it? Couldn't you give this to one of the cadets?"

"I would, but the owner insists on Ranger protection, more importantly, he insists on said Ranger being **you**."

That surprised Bridge. "Who is this guy?"

Sky shrugged, apparently the guy wasn't all that important. "Mack Hartford."

That got Bridge's attention.

Noticing his expression, Sky said, "You know him." It wasn't a question.

Bridge nodded. "He was the Red Overdrive Ranger."

"Ah," Sky said, nodding in understanding. "He's that guy you helped, in the past?"

Bridge gave another curt nod.

"But if he's a Ranger, why does he need you?"

"He _was_ a Ranger. After Operation Overdrive, Andrew Hartford severed his team's connection to the Universal Morphing Grid. The Rangers had been created to discover and protect the jewels; once that was accomplished and the Sentinel Knight was restored, there was no need for them to continue as Rangers."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "You looked them up? Is that what had you thinking so hard?"

"Yeah." Sky waited.

Bridge sighed. "When the Overdrive Rangers lost their powers fighting Thrax, the Sentinel Knight recruited five others to take their place."

Sky knew the story, everyone did, it was one of the most momentous occasions in Ranger history. The Sentinel Knight had recruited five Rangers: Kira Ford, Tori Hanson, Xander Bly, Bridge, and Adam Park. Together, they had restored the Overdrive Rangers' powers and defeated Thrax and his Evil Alliance.

"Before we all left, we promised in each other we would all keep in touch," Bridge continued. "But when I looked them up, something weird happened."

"What?"

"I found the others: Xander opened his own music store, Tori trains future ninjas at the academy, and makes surfboards on the side. Kira is a successful musician."

"But?" Sometimes, getting information out of Bridge was impossibly arduous, but Sky was patient.

"When I searched our database for Adam, I couldn't find him. It was like he completely disappeared: after 2010, the computer has no information regarding Adam Park."

Sky thought about everything he knew about Adam Park. He was a Black Ranger, active mostly in Angel Grove from 1995 to 1997. But he wasn't just any Black Ranger, he was _**the **_Black Ranger, one of Zordon's chosen. He helped set the standard that Rangers generations afterwards still followed.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Bridge told his friend. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"This obviously has you worried," Sky said. "I'll take this assignment in your place."

Bridge shook his head. "I appreciate it, Sky, but no. Besides, it'll be nice to see Mack again. It's been a while."

Sky stared at his friend for a moment, then said, "Fine. But if anything happens, you contact me."

"Fine."

* * *

THE HARTFORD ESTATE

"Bridge!" Mack exclaimed as he hugged his old friend. "It's good to see you, it's been a while."

"It's good to see you too," Bridge said. He followed Mack inside, and down into the all too familiar command center. They were met by someone Bridge had never expected to see again: the Sentinel Knight.

"Hello, Bridge," he said.

"H-Hi," Bridge said. Bridge could never understand, he always felt intimidated when in the Knight's presence.

"Bridge," the Sentinel Knight continued. "I must ask a favor of you." Bridge raised an eyebrow. Just then a butler came in with a large velvet box.

"Thank you, John," Mack said; the butler bowed his head and left. (Mack inherited the house and its employees when his father died.)

Mack opened the box: the _Corona Aurora _and its jewels were inside.

"For many years now, I have fulfilled my duty as the guardian of crown and jewels," the Sentinel Knight said. " They have been relatively safe until now."

"What happened?" Bridge asked.

"A new evil has arisen, or rather an _**old**_ evil."

"Who?" Bridge asked.

"Lord Zedd."

Bridge shivered. "But that's impossible. Zedd was turned good by Zordon's energy release."

The Sentinel Knight nodded. "Yes, but evil such as his is not easily subdued. Zordon's sacrifice returned Lord Zedd to his human form, more,_ it purified him._ All the evil within him was purged, as with Rita who went on to become the Mystic Mother, the source of the Mystic Rangers' power.

"But the forces that animate this world require balance. Rita's evil was destroyed, but Zedd's was allowed to linger. Without a body in which to personify itself, it has wandered through the decades, incorporeal. It has gathered to itself many followers through the decades. He plans to use the power of the jewels to give himself a new body, a construct in which no part of his human self remains.

"He has tried many times now to steal the _Corona_ and its jewels; his last attempt has left me weakened and unable to fulfill my duty."

Bridge asked, "But what do you want me to do?"

"I cannot restore the Overdrive Rangers' powers," the Sentinel Knight said. "I lack the energy required. As such, the task of protecting the jewels must fall to the current Rangers."

"You helped protect the jewels once," Mack said. "We were hoping you would do so again."

"You should have asked for my commander, not me."

"I don't know your commander," Mack said. "I know **you.**"

Bridge sighed; Sky was going to give him hell for this…

"What do I have to do?" Mack smiled, clapping him on the back.

"Take the jewels, hide them and keep them safe," the Sentinel Knight said.

"The _Corona Aurora_ will be taken to the museum as planned," Mack put in. " Sentinel Knight thinks that one of Zedd's goons followed him to Earth; the crown is the decoy, that should give you enough time to get back to SPD."

"Okay." Mack and Bridge shake hands.

"Take care, Bridge," the Sentinel Knight said.

* * *

_BOOM!_ Bridge groaned as he was knocked to the ground. Apparently, whoever Zedd had sent after the jewels hadn't taken the bait.

Bridge took his Delta Scanner.

"_SPD Emergency!"_ Bridge transformed into the Red SPD Ranger. The creature, which resembled a minotaur, charged at the Red Ranger. Bridged somersaulted over him, kicking his back as he landed. The creature roared in protest. Bridge took out his blasters and started shooting, but the shot's bounced off the monster's thick skin.

_Crap._ The thing punched him, and Bridge was sent sprawling. Bridged checked his shoulder, it was dislocated, and his blasters were out of reach. The minotaur prepared to charge.

"_Chrono Saber, Time Strike!"_ The Minotaur went down in a flash of crimson.

The Red Timeforce Ranger held his out to Bridge. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"


	2. Call to Duty

CHAPTER TWO: CALL TO DUTY

ANGEL GROVE, THE PRESENT

"_Jason's already agreed, and T.J. too,"_ Adam heard him say, with a hint of triumph in his voice.

"But not Justin, or Tommy," he pointed out.

"_Just think about it, okay Adam?"_

"Fine, but I'm not promising anything. Good-bye, Wes." Adam hung up the phone.

"Who was it?" Rocky asked as he entered the room.

"It was Wes."

"What did he want?"

"To make me an offer."

"About?"

Adam stared at his roommate, then answered, "SPD."

Rocky let out a low whistle. "You gonna do it?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know, I told him I think about it." He got up from his seat. "I'm going for a walk."

"Will you be back in time for class?" Adam groaned, they were teaching a class at the dojo in twenty minutes.

"Don't worry about it, Rocky said, noticing his friend's expression. "Alpha and I will cover for you."

"Thanks," Adam said as he left.

* * *

Adam walked with no particular destination in mind, he was thinking of other things.

_Space Patrol Delta,_ he thought. _After years of monster attacks and near destruction, Earth has finally decided to act._ Lost in thought, Adam wandered aimlessly through Angel Grove, passing many stores and restaurants.

_Along with Aquitar, Triforia, Mirinoi, and scores of other friendly planets, Earth has created an intergalactic police force, capable of acting as an early warning system against potential threats._

_But SPD needs Rangers if it is to succeed,_ Adam thought as he walked into a bar and ordered a beer. _Men and women with the power necessary to combat evil._ Adam fingered the power coin in his pocket; he carried it with him everywhere, a force of habit. _I always wondered why, out of all the powers he could have given me, the Sentinel Knight chose to restore the powers of the Black Ranger. _

_The power in the coin is linked to __**me**__, to __**my**__ life. It won't work for anyone else. Well, Kim gave hers to Kat, but she had Zordon's help. He transferred the power into the new vessel._

As always when he thought of Kim, Adam felt a slight tremor run through him, as well as pain.

_Get over it,_ he told himself. _She's out of your league, always has been._ The song the band was playing wasn't any help, either:

_I feel you in me,_

_I'd do anything,_

_To hold you near me, to have you hear me,_

_I feel you in me,_

_I'd do anything,_

_To…hold…you…_

_Here…with…me._

Adam hadn't seen or heard from Kim since she'd left for Florida. He wasn't too surprised. Even though they worked together, they hadn't exactly been the best of friends. She had spent all her time devoting her attention to _**him.**_

_I look up to you,_

_Steal me away with you,_

_Till one becomes a two,_

_Be my center it would be much better._

_**Get over it,**_ He told himself again.

* * *

Adam left the bar feeling agitated; nothing good ever came from him strolling down memory lane. With difficulty, Adam managed to bring his mind back to the task at hand.

_I accepted the Sentinel Knight's offer so I could help the Rangers,_ Adam thought to himself. He remembered the conversation he had with Andrew Hartford, two years ago.

_Andrew and Adam are standing beside each other, each examining a damaged morpher. _

"_I wanted to thank you for coming back to help," Andrew said. "I know you all must have busy lives you had to leave."_

"_Nothing's more important than this," Adam had replied._

* * *

_Joining SPD would not be all that different than joining a new team…_

As soon as Adam thought that, he understood why he was so hesitant.

…_and that's the problem. When I fought Thrax, I knew that once he was gone, I could go back to my life; the other Rangers would could take over after that. But joining SPD is a long term commitment to the fight, a bloody, exhausting, interminable war with no clear end in sight; that degree of permanence is staggering. It would be Zedd and Rita all over again._

_**Nothing's more important than this.**_

_But if those with the power to act do nothing, then what becomes of the world?_

* * *

Resigned, Adam started walking back to the apartment. He felt a searing, burning pain as a blaster shot made contact; he was thrown backwards.

Two creatures stood before him, one looked like a black vulture, but it stood on its legs, holding a blaster in its winged hand, donned in chest armor that looked eerily familiar to Adam…

_No, that's impossible. We defeated them…_

Next to the tenga, there was a floating mass of black. It shifted and moved in the air, it was fluid.

"_**Black Ranger,"**_ it hissed.

Adam blanched. He thought he recognized the voice, but that was impossible, too.

_How could he have survived?_

The tenga charged Adam, and he deflected it easily enough. He disarmed it with a spinning kick, sending sprawling. After a few quick kicks and punches, the tenga was completely disabled.

Adam raised the Dino Buckler to the sky.

"_It's Morphin Time! Mastodon!"_ The Black Ranger stood ready to face the floating mass, whatever it was. But it was gone now, nowhere in sight.

"Power down," Adam said, returning to his human form. _That settles it,_ he thought. _I'm going to Newtech City._


	3. Ranger Down

CHAPTER THREE: RANGER DOWN

Adam marched through the halls of the newly instituted SPD Earth Base, cadets saluted him as he passed them, though none dared to stare at him for too long. In his new, crisp SPD uniform, which was black-trimmed and gray, the Black Ranger looked more than a little intimidating.

For the past two months or so now, he, Wes, Eric, T.J., and Jason had spent most of their time training the cadets who would one day wield the first generation of SPD morphers, which Dr. Kat Manx was currently developing. While most were steadily progressing and Adam believed all would make great Rangers someday, he and the others had been tasked with picking the best cadets, the most advanced in their training. These cadets would be elevated to the Ranger rank; the rest would be split into squads and held in reserve.

While SPD does not foster or encourage favoritism in any way, it was impossible for Adam and the others not to attach themselves to certain students, whether out of respect for their skills, or because each was reminded of himself by the other in some way. But this in no way hindered the cadets' training, if anything, the Rangers trained these select few much harder than the others, and the cadets often found themselves battered and exhausted at the end of each session.

So it was that at the end of two months training, Adam, Jason, Wes, Eric and T.J. had each chosen their protégé, their successor in a sense; not by SPD's standard, but by their own, the standard that had saved the Earth many times over.

Adam reached the entrance to the command center, he was about to meet his superior, an alien from the planet Sirius, which Grumm had annihilated a week ago.

_Anubis Cruger,_ Adam thought. _A man of character, a warrior who has served his planet with distinction, but should he have been put in command so soon after having suffered a tragedy? _Adam shook his head, clearing it of his thoughts: he would meet Cruger before judging him.

Adam entered the command center to find Jason, Wes, Eric, and T.J. there already, each standing beside his respective student. As Adam took his place beside Amy, he heard himself being addressed.

"Mr. Park, how nice of you to join us." Adam saw a big blue dog stand from the chair behind the commander's desk, a man he could only assume was Cruger, an assumption proven right by Dr. Manx's introduction:

"Rangers, cadets, this is Commander Cruger." They all saluted.

"At ease," Cruger said. "Let me start by saying that is an honor to meet you, Rangers. You have saved this planet numerous times, often from certain destruction. You have served with bravery and courage, and it is my hope that you will continue to do so, in service to both Earth and SPD."

_Enough with the flattery,_ Adam thought darkly. _Say what you really want to say._

"That being said, I now speak to you, cadets," Cruger continued. "You have had the honor of being trained by Earth's Rangers, men who have given their all in the fight against evil. It is my hope that you have learned well what they had to teach you: it is your turn now."

Cruger motioned to Kat, who brandished a small tray with five small devices, which resembled PDA's in their form.

"Cadets," Cruger said, indicating the five devices. "These are your Delta Scanners, they will allow you to access the Morphing Grid. Congratulations, you are now the A-Squad Rangers."

_And there it is,_ Adam thought, a grim smile on his face.

Wes stepped forward. "Forgive me sir, but they're not ready."

Jason nodded his agreement. They're good, but they're not Ranger material yet. They've only had two months training!"

"None of which included morphers," T.J. added.

"They need more time," Eric said, throwing in his two cents.

"Mr. Park?" Cruger asked. Adam said nothing.

"Do you think that these cadets are ready to handle the responsibility of being Rangers?"

Adam stared at Amy for a moment, then gave his answer, "No."

Cruger was silent for a moment, then said, "I value your opinion, Rangers, and it will be taken into consideration. But I believe that they _are_ ready, and I am making them Rangers."

"And what,_ sir_, makes you think you know what constitutes a good Ranger?" Adam asked. "The last time I checked, you weren't one."

No one spoke.

"I will not have insubordination in my base, Mr. Park," Cruger said quietly. He turned away from Adam, and began to pass out the Delta Scanners.

* * *

"That dog is going to get them all killed," Adam said.

"That's why we're going along," Jason told him. "To make sure that doesn't happen."

"Besides," Eric chimed in, "this **is** a good opportunity to observe in a real-world situation."

"They're going up against an unknown threat with brand new powers," Adam said. "If that's not cause for worry…"

"We've done that before, Adam," T.J. pointed out.

"We always had help," Adam countered. "Jason and I had Zordon, you had Demetria, and Wes and Eric had Time Force."

"And they have _**us**_," Wes said. "Adam, chill."

* * *

"What the hell?" Eric asked as he stared at the sight before them, a mass of tengas and putty patrollers filled the city plaza.

"Why are they here?" Adam asked no one in particular. "Who's leading them?"

"You what these things are?" Wes asked.

Adam nodded. "Tengas, and putty patrollers; they're Zedd's foot soldiers. I've dealt with them before."

"But Zedd is gone," T.J. said. "Who's controlling them now?"

"We can worry about that later," Eric said, cracking his knuckles. "Got any pointers, Adam?"

"These are putty patrollers. They're strong, but extremely stupid. These are a special brand of putty, the only way to put them down for good is to hit the _Z_ on their chest."

"And the Tengas?"

"Just pound them until they've had enough," Adam said.

Eric nodded. "You hear that, cadets!?" he shouted.

"Yes, sir!" they answered back.

"Let's do this Jason said as he leapt into the fray. The others soon followed suit.

The cadets joined the battle soon afterwards, eager to prove themselves. It didn't take long for them to notice that none of their mentors had morphed yet.

_Oops,_ Amy thought to herself as she slammed a green fist into a putty patroller.

"Should we demorph?" She asked her teacher as they came back to back.

"What for?" Adam replied as he easily split a tenga in two. "You've accessed the power: use it."

"But none of you guys have morphed," Amy protested.

"Foot soldiers aren't worth the price the power demands of its users. You should only when there's a threat that requires it."

"Oh," Amy said, silently berating herself.

Adam flipped a putty onto it's back and punched its chest: it disintegrated.

Adam looked Amy. "Cruger gave you green?"

"I asked for it."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Amy looked at him as if he were stupid. "It's your color." Adam smiled in spite of himself as he launched a kick at another tenga.

_These things are relentless,_ Adam thought. He was getting tired, it was time for a boost.

Adam raised his Dino Buckler to the sky. Jason did the same. The cadets stepped back to watch their mentors, _**the legends**_, call on the power.

" _It's Morphin time! Mastodon!"_

"_It's Morphin time! Tyrannosaurus!"_ Adam and Jason stood transformed, the Black and Red Rangers in their place.

The others Rangers followed suit.

"_Let's Rocket!"_

"_Time for Timeforce!"_

"_Quantum Power!"_

The cadets stared at their mentors: the original Red and Black Rangers, the Blue Astro Ranger, the Red Timeforce Ranger and the Quantum Ranger. They leapt back into the fight with a renewed ferocity. They soon made quick work of the putties, the tengas were next.

"_**Adam!"**_ The Black Ranger turned to see Amy being engulfed by a black mass; she convulsed under its touch.

"Amy!" Adam hacked his way through the tengas, trying to clear a path, but his axe embedded itself in one of the tengas' armor: he fought his way through the rest. The black mass dropped Amy and she fell limply to the ground.

"_**Black Ranger,"**_ it hissed as Adam drew near. The Black Ranger hadn't seen the thing since it attacked three months ago, but Adam felt that creeping sense of familiarity.

_I know what this is,_ he thought. _But how is it possible?!_

Just then Jason slashed the thing with his power Sword, and it dissipated.

"We have to go now," he said. Adam looked around. The tengas were all defeated, but at a cost: of the five cadets, only two were standing, the other two were nursing wounds, and another lay motionless at Adam's feet.


	4. Back in Black

CHAPTER FOUR: BACK IN BLACK

NEWTECH CITY, 2027

"So let me get this straight," Sky said. "Lord Zedd is back, and he wants the jewels of the _Corona Aurora _to give himself a new body and complete dominion over the universe."

Bridge nods.

"The Sentinel Knight has guarded the jewels until now, but his last skirmish with Zedd's forces left him weak, so the jewels need new guardians. He's asked you to protect them."

"That about sums it up," Bridge said as he moved his shoulder around, testing it.

Sky ran a hand through his hair. "This is big."

"Yeah."

"You should have called me."

"You followed me anyway."

"Was I wrong?"

"No," Bridge admitted, moving his shoulder again.

"Keep me in the loop next time, okay?"

Bridge nodded.

The alarms go off.

"Kat?" Sky asked.

"There is an electrical disturbance just outside the base," Kat responded, perplexed.

Sky didn't need to hear more.

"_Time for Timeforce!"_ Sky morphed as he made his way outside, Bridge did the same.

_

* * *

_

"Wes? Wes, is that you?"

Sky said nothing. _How is this possible?_

"Adam!"

"Bridge!" Adam exclaimed, recognizing the Red SPD Ranger.

_But wait,_ Adam thought to himself. _If he's here, then that means… oh hell._

"What are you doing here?" Bridge asked as he demorphed.

"You tell me," Adam replied. "One second, I'm in SPD's sick bay, comforting one of my injured Rangers, then the Sentinel Knight shows up. He tells me I'm needed and the next thing I know I'm here." He looked around. "What year is this?"

"2027."

Adam looked over at Timeforce Red. "Wes, you're pretty quiet."

"I'm not Wes," Sky said as he demorphed. "I'm his son."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Where's-"

"Don't ask," Bridge said. "It's one of those things we can't tell you."

Adam shrugged and let it drop.

"Let's get back inside," Sky said.

As they entered the base, Bridge was hit by a terrible thought.

_**After 2010, the computer has no information regarding Adam Park. It's as if he disappeared.**_

_Adam disappeared from the historical record because he traveled to the future. If there was no record of his existence after that…that means that Adam Park never returned to the past. The Black Ranger would die here, in 2027._


	5. Reunion

**CHAPTER FIVE: REUNION**

"…**So now the jewels are here, at SPD," Bridge said.**

**But if you guys are protecting the jewels…" Adam said. "…Then why am **_**I**_ here?"

"I honestly don't know," Bridge told him. "Maybe the Sentinel Knight wants you to help us."

"Don't you have other Rangers?"

"The Rangers are understaffed at the moment," Sky explained. After Bridge and I were promoted, B-Squad was left with only three Rangers."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "What about A-Squad?"

"A-Squad was disbanded," Sky replied. "And after Grumm's defeat, Earth became quite peaceful; there was no need to fill the Rangers' roster."

"Which colors are missing?"

"You're missing Green… what's the other color?"

"Blue."

"We could use the help, until we can fill the team again," Bridge said.

"I might as well, seeing as I'm here."

"Great!" Sky exclaimed, clapping Adam on the back. "Kat, could you take Adam to one of the spare rooms?"

"Sure," Kat said, turning to Adam. "Follow me, please."

As Adam left, Bridge felt a rush of sadness for his fellow Ranger, for his friend; he would never be going home.

"Bridge, you okay?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Sky asked again.

"I figured out why I couldn't find any information on Adam when I looked him up," Bridge said, ignoring the question. "He disappears from history today."

"What do you mean?" Sky asked.

"There is no information regarding Adam park after 2010. He just disappears."

"Yeah…" Sky commented, not really sure where his friend was going with this.

"What if he didn't disappear? What if he traveled to the future, and never came back?"

Sky caught on quick. "Damn," he said as he stared at the spot Adam had just vacated.

"Exactly," Bridge said."

* * *

"Make yourself at home," Kat said.

"Thanks," Adam said as he looked around his new room. "I will." Kat left.

There was a desk up against the left wall, and a bed on the wall opposite. There was also a TV and a gaming console he didn't recognize. The room was empty of any decoration: no posters, or pictures of any kind, so he was probably the first person to use it. The closet was empty, which reminded Adam that he had no clothes, save the ones he had on; he hadn't exactly planned this trip.

_What do they use for money in the future? _he thought to himself. _I guess I can ask Bridge to loan me some money. I wonder if he's still in the command center with Sky. I'm glad Sky's commander here: Cruger and I aren't on the best of terms right now._

_Sky. Wes' son. Wes had never told anyone he had a son. Then again, maybe he just wasn't born yet. And that's another thing: Where's Wes? I haven't seen him around here. Why des Sky have his morpher? Bridge knows, but he told me not to ask, said it was one of those things he couldn't tell me._

Adam was aware from past experience that there were certain things the Red Ranger couldn't tell him, lest they affect the future. But Wes was his friend; if something had happened to him, he should know. _I'll find out,_ Adam told himself. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Eric, T.J., or Jason either. Maybe they had just quit SPD.

_Whatever, right now, I need clothes._

* * *

"Bridge!" Adam spotted him chatting with a girl in a pink SPD uniform.

Bridge turned. "Hey Adam!" he gestured toward his friend. "This is Syd, the Pink Ranger."

"Nice to meet you," Adam said, shaking her hand.

"And it's an honor meeting you, sir," Syd said, smiling.

"Call me Adam; sir makes me feel old." That got small chuckles from the two of them.

"Adam then," Syd said, still smiling.

"What's up?" Bridge asked.

"I was in my room when I realized that I have no clothes, other than this uniform. I need to go shopping, but I don't have any money. I was hoping you could spot me."

"I'll help you shop!" Syd said before Bridge could open his mouth to respond.

"Uh, are you sure?"

Syd nodded. "It'll be fun!" She takes Adam's hand and starts dragging him away. Adam manages to shoot a glance at Bridge that said _Help me!_

Bridge just smiled and gave a shrug that said _Just go with it._ Then he left to find some buttered toast.

* * *

"Syd!" Adam yelled as he lagged behind her, laden with shopping bags.

Syd stops and turns. "What?"

"We've been to five stores already," Adam said between gasps for breath. "And all we've done is buy clothes for _**you**_."

Syd shrugs. "It's not my fault you haven't found anything you like. Now come on, there's one more store we should try."

_Just one?_ Adam thought darkly. He was going to kill Bridge when he got back.

…

Adam followed Syd into the next store. He didn't catch the name because he was too busy trying to balance all the bags, but it didn't matter anyway; clothes were clothes. He set down the bags at the counter and started for the men's section, and Syd followed.

Since he wasn't really acquainted with 2027 and he wanted to fit in, Adam had Syd help him pick his wardrobe. Her eyes lit up when she saw something she liked, and her nose crinkled when she saw something she didn't. It reminded Adam of an old friend of his, but he didn't want to think about her just now: no need to dwell on painful memories.

As he was examining a black tee with a lightening design on it, someone came up behind him and tapped on the shoulder.

"Adam?" a voice asked.

Adam froze, and his stomach did a back flip; he'd know that voice anywhere. He turned around.

"_**Kim?"**_


	6. Captured

CHAPTER SIX: CAPTURED

Kimberly and Adam were at a small bistro just outside of Newtech City. After running into each other at the clothing store, Syd suggested that they should catch up with each other. Smiling deviously, Adam instantly agreed, leaving Syd lost amid the vast, chaotic sea of her shopping bags.

Now Adam sat across from his old friend, at a loss for words. He and Kim had not spoken in years, and truth be told, Adam was a little nervous. He was sitting across from the woman he had secretly loved from the moment he met her, and he had absolutely no idea what to say. So he just stared at her while he drank his coffee.

Kim had aged well. There wasn't a touch of gray in her hair, and she'd kept herself in shape. That thought finally gave Adam something to say.

"Are you still doing gymnastics?" he asked.

Kim shook her head, and launched into the story of everything she'd done over the years. Winning at the Pan Globals, training with Olympic coaches, and going on to earn the silver medal in the 2020 Olympics. (She smiled at this.)

"But that sounds amazing!" Adam exclaimed. "Why'd you stop?"

Kim's smile faltered. "One of my best friends went missing. After that, it was pretty hard to concentrate on anything, least of all gymnastics. He… was never found."

"I'm sorry," Adam said, holding her hand in his own. This guy must have been really important to her if it caused her this much pain to remember. "Did I know him?"

Kim let out a choking laugh at that.

_What's so funny about that?_ Adam thought, confused.

"Adam," she said. "It was _**you.**_" Adam froze. _Me?_

Kim took something out of her purse. It was a piece of paper, which was very old, by the look of it. It was wrinkled, even torn in certain places. Kim unfolded it and handed it to Adam.

It was a poster, dated 2010.

His face was on it, and _**MISSING**_ was typed across the top in bold lettering. There were dried blotches on the poster, where Kim's tears had fallen over it, all those years ago.

Adam was dumbfounded. She'd cried. _Cried_. Over _him_. She'd kept his picture.

"Adam," Kim asked softly. "Where have you _been_ all this _time?_"

"I've been here," Adam said. Kim raised an eyebrow.

_How does she do that?_ he wondered, then shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

"This morning, I was in 2010," Adam began. "One of my Rangers was hurt, and Cruger and I had had an argument. I was in the medical bay, visiting, when the Sentinel Knight came to me.

" 'Adam, your world is once again in grave peril,' he told me. There was a flash of light and the next thing I knew, I was in 2027, being dragged around by a shop-a-holic Pink Ranger."

Kim laughed, and Adam smiled; it'd been a while since he heard her laugh.

* * *

High above the Earth's surface, in a castle long thought to have been abandoned, the evil essence known as Lord Zedd watched the reunion between the original Pink and Black Rangers.

_Insects,_ Zedd thought grimly. _They will soon be crushed._

"My lord," a voice said. Zedd shifted his ephemeral self to face his soldier, the newly recreated Lizzinator.

"My lord, we've found him!" Lizzinator exclaimed, clapping his hands and hopping around. "We have him at last!"

"_**Bring him to me,**_**"** the shadows rasped. Two putties entered the chamber, the Sentinel Knight bound and beaten between them.

"_**Where are the jewels?"**_

"They are safe," the Sentinel Knight replied. "You will never find them."

"_**Tell me where they are."**_

"I will never tell you."

The black mass that is Lord Zedd glided over to the Sentinel Knight, and ever so gently, enveloped him.

The Sentinel Knight screamed in pain, his armor began to corrode.

"_**Yes, you will."**_ Zedd released the Knight from his hold: he continued to decay.

Zedd turned his attention back to Earth.

_Enjoy this respite while you can, Black Ranger,_ he thought malevolently. _**It will not last.**_


	7. New Recruit

CHAPTER SEVEN: NEW RECRUIT

Bridge stood outside the door to Syd's room, acting as lookout for Sky; he was trying to find clues as to what Syd wanted for their anniversary this year. Sky has given her a set of dumbbells the year before, and she didn't speak to him for a month. Bridge smiled a little at the memory.

Sky thought she had been overreacting. Being a Ranger is dangerous business; one has to stay strong and in shape, be ready for anything. Dumbbells had been a perfectly sensible gift!

Sky is one of the best Rangers Bridge had ever met, and he was the most loyal friend you could find, but feelings had never been his strong suit. He had come a long way in the past two years, coming out of his shell little by little, but he was still new to the whole "I have feelings that I want to express to you" thing. Z actually had to sit Sky down and explain exactly why exercise equipment was the _**worst**_ gift to get your girlfriend on your anniversary.

So now he was in her room, snooping.

_Wouldn't it be easier just to ask Syd want she wants? _Bridge thought to himself.

_I'm hungry, I wonder if there's any buttered toast left. I'd better leave some for Adam in case he's hungry when he gets back. Unless he already ate, so I should eat them all, unless he didn't eat, and he's hungry…_

Just then, a barrage of shopping bags fell to the ground, obstructing Bridge's vision, forcing him out of his headstand. Syd's face came into view as he righted himself.

"H-hi," Bridge stammered, looking around. "Where's Adam?"

"He ran into an old friend while we were shopping," Syd explained. "Then they went to some place private to catch and left me with all the bags!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Huh," Bridge commented as he slowly backpedaled to the door, and knocked twice, giving Sky the signal. "Major drag."

"Tell me about it."

"So where are they now?" Syd shrugs.

Bridge tried to think of what else to say, but nothing came to mind.

_I'm really hungry._

"You must be hungry, how about we grab a bite to eat at the cafeteria?"

"I'm starving, but I have all these bags…"

"The cleaning service is in there right now, so you can't go in. Come on, I'll help carry the bags."

Syd narrowed her eyes as she stared at Bridge, saying nothing, then "Are you up to something?"

"Not at all!" Bridge exclaimed, shaking his head a little too vigorously.

"Okay," Syd said. "Let's go! She turned and left, leaving him with all the bags.

_Just great,_ Bridge thought as he followed her. _He so owes me for this._

About thirty seconds later, Sky exits Syd's room with a smile on his face.

* * *

An hour later, Sky and Bridge were walking down the halls.

"Did you figure out what you're gonna get her?"

"Yes?"

"You gonna tell me?"

"No."

Bridge grumbles.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Adam and Kim are seen walking in, and the four meet halfway.

"Hey guys," Adam said he approached Bridge and Sky. "This is my friend, Kimberly."

"We all know who she is," Sky said, shaking Kim's hand. "Hard to forget the world's first Pink Ranger."

"It's nice to meet you…?"

"Sky." Kim smiled at him.

"And I'm Bridge."

"Nice to meet you."

"Listen, Kim, I'm gonna go see where Syd put my new wardrobe-"

"Okay, I actually have something to talk to Sky about anyway."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Okay." He leaves.

"What's up?' Sky asked.

Kim waited, watching Adam. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kim said, "I want to join SPD." Then she left to join Adam before Sky could formulate an answer.

_**This morning, I was in 2010. The next thing I knew, I was here.**_

If Adam had ever made it back to the present, she would've remembered seeing him then. He would've told his story, and she would've expected to meet him again in seventeen years.

But she doesn't. Adam has been missing for seventeen years. He never went back. That was really what decided her: She was going to make sure Adam made it home.


	8. Blue Streak

**A/N: I have no idea what to get Syd for her anniversary. Sky either, for that matter. Suggestions?**

CHAPTER EIGHT: BLUE STREAK

Left hook. Right hook. Upper cut. Spinning kick. Sky stumbled backward as the punching bag slammed into him. Kim might be petite, but she had a lot of strength.

_I'm glad she's on our side,_ Sky thought as he stood, rubbing his side.

"Pretty good," he told her. "Let's go again. Only this time, try not to crack my ribs."

Kim smiled. "Okay, but I'm not making any promises."

Sky smiled back as he steadied the bag for her.

A few moments of silence passed between them as the bag was pelted, each thud increasing in force. After another sweltering blow that left Sky slightly breathless, he ventured a question.

" I hope you don't mind my asking, but what exactly prompted you to join SPD? Not that I'm not glad you're here, but we could've used you when Grumm was around."

Since becoming a member of SPD, Kimberly had been privy to information she hadn't had before. She learned about how in 2008, Adam led a team of veteran Rangers against Thrax, the son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. Together with the Overdrive Rangers, Adam's team managed to defeat Thrax, restore the Sentinel Knight and safeguard the jewels of the _Corona Aurora._

Kim had been surprised by that. She hadn't known that Adam had taken up the morpher again. She figured that would have been something she would've heard about, from their friends if not from him. When she'd run into him the other day and he'd told her that the Sentinel Knight had recruited him for yet another mission, she'd assumed it had been purely to assist the current Rangers in one capacity or another. She hadn't expected him to be fighting, not after what happened the last time he had morphed when helping the Astro Rangers. He had nearly _**died**_.

Then again, how could she have known? The only person she had ever kept close contact with had been Jason, who'd always been like a big brother to her. She'd fallen out of touch with the others.

Then Rocky called. Adam had gone missing, seemingly from inside of the SPD base. There was talk of a traitor in their ranks, someone who had it in for Rangers. The Base had been on high alert for months, and finding Adam had been their top priority. But they never found him. After two years of fruitless searching, Adam was assumed dead.

Kim hadn't realized how much she had missed Adam until he wasn't there anymore. There were no cards on her birthday, no Christmas letters, which she now regretted never answering. No congratulatory flowers after a stunning gymnastics victory.

Everywhere she went, there were little reminders of him. The tribute to the Power Rangers in Newtech City Square. His favorite bookstore chain. She had gone to see _The Princess and the Frog_ and had agonized the entire time, wondered what had become of _**her**_ Frog Prince.

Seventeen long years pass, and she runs into Adam! At Aeropostle, of all places! She couldn't have been happier that day; her best friend, the man she had mourned for seventeen years was alive!

But Kim knew that if Adam ever returned to the past, she would have knowledge of it, and she didn't. So she joined SPD to protect him, to make sure he made it home. But she wasn't about to tell Sky that; it was too personal.

Then she learned that Lord Zedd was somehow still alive, and that he wanted the jewels, which were now in SPD custody, to give himself a new body and supreme power over the universe. This was a Lord Zedd completely deprived of anything that once made him human, one that was not afraid to kill, and would not hesitate to do so.

"Ow! Kim it's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

"What?" Kim broke out of her reverie to see Sky rubbing various spots along his body. Her punches had increased in frequency and strength, and he had taken the brunt of them.

"What's the matter Sky, can't take it?" Kim taunted, laughing.

"Ha, ha, ha,"

"Here," Sky said, handing her a Delta Scanner. "This is yours now."

Just then Syd bursts into the room and pins Sky to the wall.

"It's the funniest thing," she says nonchantly. "I come back from shopping to find Bridge standing outside my room, telling me I can't go in because the cleaning service is inside. I didn't think anything of it at the time, Bridge is weird on _good_ days.

"But cleaning services are automated here, so it's not like I would've have disturbed anyone from their job or anything. Then I go in and Peanut is on the wrong side of the bed."

Sky gulps. _Damn it._

"Were looking through my stuff?" Syd asked, her grip tightening around his neck.

_Might as well tell the truth._

"Yeah but hear me out!"

"I'm listening."

"It's our anniversary, and I wanted to figure out what to get you. I didn't want a repeat of last year."

Syd thought that over. "Did you get an idea?"

"Yes."

"Is it marvelous?"

"Yes."

"Then I forgive you. But if you ever snoop through my stuff again, I… will…hurt… you." She gives him a peck on the cheek and exits.

Sky sees Kim trying not to laugh.

"Don't say it," Sky intoned.

"Dude, you're whipped!"

"Shut up," Sky grumbles.

* * *

Adam is knocked to the ground. Again. He was getting his ass kicked. Again. And this one wasn't even real!

The Z doppelganger stood before him, mocking him.

"Is that the best you can do?" she taunted.

_Not quite,_ Adam thought. Using his hand as a fulcrum, Adam raised himself, kicking the doppelganger in the process and sending it reeling into the real Z. The resulting blow destroyed Z's concentration, and the doppelganger disappeared.

"How do you do that?" Z asked as Adam helped her up. "How do you always manage to beat me at the last second?"

"Skill," Adam said. "It may be old school, but it still gets the job done."

"You sayin' I have no skill?" Z asked defensively, yet playfully.

Just then Bridge appeared. "Monster attack guys!" Then he disappeared again.

"We are _so _finishing this conversation later," Z said as they morphed.

* * *

The Red Ranger's Delta Blasters were having no effect on the monster; it marched through the blasts unfazed, throwing aside the Yellow Ranger's doppelgangers as though they were rag dolls.

The Black Ranger stepped forward, Power Axe in hand. The monster tries to swat him away, but the Black Ranger dodges, spinning away, the Axe revolving in his hand. He brings the weapon down in a powerful down-swing. But the blow is not powerful enough, and the Black Ranger is thrown aside.

"Where the hell is Sky?" Adam asked.

"He and Syd are taking care the Lizzinator," The Red Ranger replied. "Apparently, Zedd sent him to attack the other side of the city."

"Attack…or search?"

"That would be the million dollar question. Sky did say he would be sending back-up."

"Who else is there?"

Just then a streak of blue smashed into the monster, the resulting collision compounding itself into sparks. The streak dashed away to the rooftop of a nearby building, materializing into the Blue SPD Ranger, with the Delta Max Striker in saber mode in its gloved hand.

_Looks like Sky finally found his successor, _the Black Ranger thought to himself. _Just in the nick of time, too._

But there was something strangely familiar about the Ranger's movements. The Black Ranger watched with growing apprehension as the Blue Ranger battled the monster.

_It can't be… could it?_

After a few deft strikes from the Blue Ranger's Delta Max Striker, the monster fell and disintegrated into a mass of sparks and ash.

"Pretty good," the Red Ranger commented. There was a flash of crimson and Bridge stood in the Ranger's place.

The others followed suit and demorphed. As they approached the newest member of their team, the Blue Ranger demorphed, leaving Kim behind in its place.


	9. Knightfall

CHAPTER NINE: KNIGHTFALL

He tried yet again to break free of that chains that bound him, but to no avail. Had he been at full power, the Sentinel Knight could have freed himself easily. But he was not at full power, Zedd's touch had seen to that. With every passing second, the Knight's strength faded.

_Whatever Zedd did to me must have corrupted the Sword Excelsior, _the Sentinel Knight thought to himself. _It no longer has the strength to sustain me._

The Sentinel Knight sucked in a breath as the convulsions started again. The blackened, charred armor disintegrated as the pestilence raged through his body. He clung to his chains now, as if hoping that the source of his enslavement would offer him some solace, some respite from the wracking pain.

_I must survive,_ the Sentinel Knight thought. _I must survive until I can reach the Rangers, so that I may tell them why Zedd __**truly**__ covets the jewels. I must… _the knight's startling emerald eyes dim to a dull gray.

* * *

"You did well yesterday," Bridge commented to Kim as they finished their laps around the obstacle course.

"Thanks," Kim said in reply.

"But for future reference, we don't kill them anymore, we _contain_ them."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I know. Sky gave that lecture yesterday. It won't happen again."

"Okay."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Kim raised an eyebrow. "No one says that anymore."

Bridge laughs. "I picked up a few expressions when I was in 2008. I forget I'm not there sometimes."

Kim nods, accepting his explanation, then continues with her question, "You and Adam are friends, right?"

Bridge smiles. "Yeah. When I went back to help the Overdrive Rangers, Adam helped me…adjust." The smile faltered for a moment, then it was back.

"Adjust?"

Bridge nodded. "Here, aliens are considered people. Most of them are just trying to make a decent living. Those that cause trouble are incarcerated."

Kim nods: she had been there for the influx of aliens to Earth, the restructuring of the status quo.

"We both know that wasn't the case in 2008," Bridge continued softly. And Kim immediately understood. She gripped his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"I wasn't ready," Bridge continued, still in a soft tone of voice. "I wasn't ready to face the brutality, the inhumanity of the Ranger's calling. Adam was the best of us, the most lethal; the things that man can do with just his skill and his wits is amazing…and terrifying.

"But somehow, through it all, he managed to stay human. That was what drew me to him in the first place. Adam kept me sane: he helped me to understand, to move past the pain. He made me stronger." Bridge looks at Kim. "He's one of my best friends."

Kim smiles at Bridge. "So if you knew something terrible was going to happen to him, something life-threatening, would you tell him? Would you do anything to make sure that thing didn't happen?"

Bridge stared at Kim for a moment. "You know." It wasn't a question.

"I guessed," was her reply.

"Is that why you joined SPD? To protect him?"

This was why Kim had chosen to have this conversation with Bridge: he was intuitive. And despite the things he'd seen and done as a Ranger, he still possessed an open, innocent, childlike quality. He wouldn't judge her.

"Yes."

Bridge smiled and said, "He's lucky to have you." Then he left to find some buttered toast, leaving Kim thunderstruck.

* * *

"_**Has he spoken yet?"**_ Lord Zedd demanded.

"No, my lord," Goldar replied.

"_**The fool would rather die than disclose the location of the jewels."**_

"Yes, lord."

"_**Then die he shall. Goldar, I want you to take a squad of Putty Patrollers and a few Tengas down to Earth. Destroy Newtech City, bring it down piece by piece, and do not return until you have found the jewels."**_

Goldar bows and leaves.

* * *

The body of the Sentinel Knight lay chained and lifeless, the Sword Excelsior reduced to a pile of ash. But the Knight himself lived on, in his ephemeral form.

_I must make my way down to Earth. I need to contact the Rangers._

Too weak for teleportation, the Sentinel Knight floated his way along the corridor of Zedd's castle, trying to find a way down to the planet this moon fortress orbited. Soon he came to a room he recognized: Zedd's Chamber of Command. And there, beside his throne, was the _Corona Aurora: _It had never made it to the museum. Briefly, the Sentinel Knight wondered what had become of Mack Hartford and the rest of the crown's escort.

He did not dwell on the thought. He was comforted by the fact that the crown was useless to Zedd without the jewels.

_And the jewels are worthless without the crown. I no longer possess the strength to teleport myself, but an object of the Corona's size should not tax me._

He was about to muster his strength when he head that despicable voice utter his name.

"_**Sentinel Knight."**_

"Lord Zedd."

"Without warning, the force that is Lord Zedd charged at the Sentinel Knight, consuming him. All light disappeared from the Chamber of Command.

"_**You are weak," **_Lord Zedd hissed as the Sentinel Knight struggled in his grasp.

"_**Night falls, and my **__**time**__** approaches. You are no longer of any use to me."**_

And with that, Lord Zedd flung his adversary from the fortress, laughing as the shattered Knight fell to Earth.


	10. Revelations

CHAPTER TEN: REVELATIONS

"_He's lucky to have you," Bridge said as he left to find some buttered toast, leaving Kim thunderstruck._

Bridge's words had shocked Kim. It wasn't so much that he had said them, but the _unexpectedness_ of them, of the feeling they had triggered in her. Kim had felt proud at the words. She felt comfort in them, fulfillment, _completion_. The shock came later.

Did she love Adam? It was a thought that had never crossed her mind before. Despite the fact that she considered him one of her best friends and their time together as Rangers, she and Adam had never really bonded. Back then, her world had revolved around a _different _Ranger.

But for all that estrangement, there was never any awkwardness between them. There were never any gaps in conversations, no long silences, no awkward moments. He could always make her laugh, and cheer her up when she was down. When she moved to Florida and cut off all contact with the Rangers, Jason being the exception, it was Adam who had tried to stay friends. He sent her letters every month, asking how she was doing, whether or not she would visit soon, when could he expect to see her on TV as an Olympic gymnast. He never forgot her birthday. He'd also updated her on his own life: moving in with Rocky, starting his own dojo. He sent her a Christmas card every year, and flowers after every competition. He never got an answer in return, and he didn't seem to expect one; there was never any kind of reproach in his letters. He offered her his friendship with no strings attached, no conditions.

As time went on, Kim had found herself growing attached to Adam's letters. Out of all of her old friends, Adam was the only one who had kept contact, the only one who tried to maintain the semblance of a relationship. And he kept trying, without seeming to care that she didn't want to talk, to have any reminders of the life she left behind. She was touched. She felt closer to him now, and often found herself waiting for the next letter to arrive, waiting for the next snippet out of Adam's life.

But then the letters stopped. Kim knew now that around that time Adam had been called back to action, but back then she'd thought he'd simply gotten tired of her silence, that he'd stopped caring. So she moved to Newtech City, where she began to train for the Olympics. About a year later, she'd heard the news: Adam had enlisted in SPD, and would be stationed in the Newtech Base. She couldn't have been happier. She'd been planning on visiting Adam and apologizing for never answering his letters, hoping that he would forgive her and they could still be friends. But then it happened: three months after his enlistment, Adam disappeared, seemingly from inside the Base itself. Kim had been devastated. She couldn't concentrate anymore. She cried constantly. As the search continued on, fruitless, it hit her that she would never see her friend again.

Then seventeen years later, she finds Adam alive and well, and no older than he had been when he disappeared. That day, she'd felt happy again, for the first time in _years_.

But did that really mean she loved Adam? Sure, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but how could she have fallen in love with a man she hadn't seen, hadn't talked to in so long? So what if she'd joined SPD specifically to protect him, friends were allowed to do that for each other, right? Right?

Kim shook her confused head, clearing it of its jumbled thoughts. She would try to sort out her feelings later; today was all about Syd and Sky.

* * *

"So what's this amazing gift you have for me?" Syd asked as Sky guided her, his hand covering her eyes.

Sky laughs. "Be patient a little longer, we're almost there."

"Almost wh-" Syd stopped short as the intro to one of her favorite songs began to play. She turns around to look at Sky. "You didn't!"

Sky smiles. "I did. Happy anniversary."

"You didn't tell me you knew Kira Ford!"

"I don't, but Bridge does, so I called in a favor."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Syd exclaimed as she hugged Sky. They begin to dance as Kira sings.

_I see you wanna get lost inside me_

_Too many words_

_People say too many things_

_They take you away_

_Whether you wanna go_

_Let it all sadden_

_Drown your tears in my pettled hair._

_They're just words_

_( Just words, you can say anything.)_

_So talk to me_

_( I swear they won't hear you.)_

_I promise no one else will hear_

_They're just words_

_(Just tell me your fears and your dreams.)_

_It won't hurt me_

_So if you wanna say something_

_Just say it, say it to me._

This particular song was very close to Syd's heart. It was the one that brought her and Sky closer, brought them together.

The B-Squad Rangers had captured the copycat monster, thanks to the information provided by Mirloc. In return for his cooperation, Sky had promised the convict that he would recount his worst memory. Sky kept his promise, and told Mirloc his worst memory: the day his father died. During this retelling, Sky lost control of his emotions, and Mirloc, who possessed the ability to transport himself through reflective surfaces, used the Ranger's tears to escape.

Already laden with guilt over the criminal's escape, Sky was hit with a terrible truth, one Cruger had kept hidden from him: It was Mirloc who had killed his father. This knowledge added to the Ranger's despair. Now eventually Mirloc was recaptured, and Sky himself brought him in.

But during the time between Mirloc's escape and his return to custody, Sky was a mess. He didn't eat. He put himself through exhausting training sessions. He didn't speak to anyone, and according to Bridge, he couldn't sleep because he kept having nightmares.

It hurt Syd to see him suffering, to see him so broken. But every time she tried to approach him, to comfort him, to tell him it would all be okay, that he wasn't alone. But he kept avoiding her. In the end, she had to abduct Sky from his room.

_Whisper to me in the voiceThe one that's only heard by meTell me all the things you only told me in your dreamsWhatever you sayI won't leaveI won't judge you for what you believeBe it good or badIt's all the same to me_ Once in Syd's room, Sky said nothing. He just stared at her, absently keeping time with the song that was playing.

_They're just words(Just words, you can say anything)So talk to me(I swear they won't hear you)I promise no one else will hearThey're just words(Just tell me your fears and your dreams)It won't hurt meSo if you wanna say somethingJust say it, say it to me _

Syd hugged Sky impulsively, holding him tightly as tears stung her eyes.

"Please," she whispered frantically. "Please talk to me." That was when Sky broke down. He found himself hugging Syd back, felt the tears streaking down his face. They stayed that way, embraced, as Sky for the first time ever laid out his heart. No one outside themselves knew what happened that night, and they'd been inseparable since.

"I love you," Sky told his girlfriend as the song ended.

"I love you, too," Syd replied, smiling up at him.

Adam watched as Sky and Syd interacted, smiling in spite of himself. Those two belonged together. As he watched them, Adam felt a pang of regret, because he'd never found someone he could be that close to. The only person he wanted wasn't interested.

Syd was about to give Sky his gift when the Chrono Morpher beeped, Dr. Manx's image appearing above it.

"What's up, Kat?"

"A massive force of Tengas and Putty Patrollers are attacking the City, and they're being led by Goldar."

_That_ got Adam's attention. "Goldar is dead. He was destroyed by Zordon's energy release."

Kat's image shifted to face him. "True, but Goldar _is _leading this attack." By now, Kira had packed up her equipment, and she and Bridge were listening in.

_How is that possible?_ Adam thought to himself.

"We're on our way, Kat," Sky said. "_Time for Timeforce!"_

"_It's Morphin Time!"_

"_SPD Emergency!"_

"_Dinothunder, power up, ha!"_

* * *

Goldar's forces were relentless. When Ranger struck a putty or tenga down, another took its place.

The Black Ranger faces off against his old foe. The Axe is brought down with enough strength behind it to split a Chiller's face in half, but the blow is parried by Goldar's sword. Sparks fly as sword and axe make contact. They stand face to face, weapons interlocked.

"You will have to do better than that, Black Ranger," Goldar taunts.

"How are you still alive?"

"That does not concern you!"

"Then we're done here." In one deft move, the Black Ranger disarmed Goldar and brought his axe to bear in a powerful slash, leaving a huge gash in Goldar's chest.

"You have not seen the last of me, Black Ranger," Goldar said, struggling to stand. "You will pay for what you have done this day." Then he disappeared.

The Yellow Dinothunder Ranger used her Ptera Grips to send three putties and a tenga sprawling. She feels shade loom over her, and looks up to see the sun being blocked out by giant, dark hurtling mass. And it was headed straight for them.

"Watch out!" she cried. The mass made impact with the earth the collision in a hail of debris and an explosion so powerful it took out the whole of the invading force. Only the Red Timeforce Ranger's force field had saved them.

SPD Red examines ground zero and exclaims, "It's the Sentinel Knight!"

"Rangers," the Knight spoke as they gathered around him. "Are the jewels safe?"

"Yes."

"Lord Zedd must not get them; he plans to use their power to… to…"

"To what!?" the Black Ranger demanded.

"Time," the Knight gasped. "It is… all about Time." And with that, the Sentinel Knight closed his eyes.


	11. Epiphany

CHAPTER ELEVEN: EPIPHANY

After careful examination by SPD's doctors, it was determined that the Sentinel Knight was still alive. However, he was comatose, and his ephemeral body would constantly flicker, as though it were in danger of disappearing completely. Fortunately, Kat had pulled off a miracle: she had been able to establish a direct link between the Knight and the Universal Morphing Grid. Its power kept him alive…for now. Unfortunately, the power required to sustain the Sentinel Knight was massive. Power was being siphoned from all quadrants of the Grid, disabling the Rangers' powers until such a time as the Knight no longer needed the Grid's energy.

Dr. Manx was checking the Knight's vital signs, making notes on her check pad when Adam approached her.

"How is he?" Adam asked as he stared at his old comrade. In the past, the Sentinel Knight had been powerful in his ethereal form, and even more so when he regained his body; he was a master of time. To seem him so beaten, so shattered, was more than a little disturbing.

"He's stable, which is an improvement from two hours ago," Kat replied. "Otherwise, there has been no change."

Adam nodded in acknowledgement, asked her to notify him when something happened, and left the medical bay. He kept going over the Sentinel Knight's last words before sinking into the depthless realms of unconsciousness: _"Time. It all has to do with Time."_ Adam had thought it curious that the Sentinel would spend the last of his strength on so cryptic a message. So Adam went to Sky for help. As Wes's son, he was sure to have more information on the subject of time than anyone else around.

He'd found Sky in Bridge's room, playing a video game. Kira was composing in the corner, in her own little world. Bridge groaned as his Green Ranger was defeated by Sky's Blue Senturion.

"What's up?" Sky asked, looking up at him from his seat.

They talked the rest of the day away, coming up with theory after theory as to the meaning of the Knight's words.

"Time is linear," Sky said. "With three parts to its equation: past, present, and future. With the proper technology, or the proper training, the right kind of energy, each part of that equation can accessed. But time is also like a river, constantly flowing and ebbing."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Think of time as one big river, flowing forward. We in the present move forward, with the current, into the eventual future. But those with the ability to manipulate time can go backwards as well; they can go _**against**_ the current. When that happens, the river is disturbed."

"Disturbed how?"

"Every action has a definite consequence. People talk about the importance of protecting the time stream, to preserve everything so that the future doesn't change. But by going back in time, you have _**already**_ polluted the time stream. You affect the actions of those you come into contact with. You influence their decisions, you may even divert them from the path history mandated they were supposed to take. The Timeforce Incident, for example."

Adam nodded, understanding. Wes was originally supposed to take over his father's company, Bio-Lab. But then he became a Ranger, to help Time Force recapture Ransik, changing the course of history, and in direct correlation, the future.

"When that happens, the stream tries to correct itself."

"Correct itself?" Bridge asked, now fully intrigued. He had traveled through time before, when he went to help the Overdrive Rangers. He wanted to make sure his actions didn't have negative repercussions.

"Time is one big river. When something happens to change its course, the stream adapts. Another stream is formed, this new stream is tied to the original, but does not necessarily empty into the same place; a tributary, if you will."

"Now you're talking about parallel universes."

Sky and Bridge stared at Adam.

"What!?" Adam demanded, miffed. "I spent years fighting alongside one of the smartest people I know. Some things were bound to sink in."

"So you think Zedd wants to use the jewels, not only to give himself a new body, but complete dominion over time?" Kira asked. "How is that possible?"

"The jewels have the power to grant complete dominion over the universe, and everything in it," Bridge said, now in his thinking position. "That would include the essence of time, and the parallel universes it created."

"He wants to make himself the lord of all existence," Adam said, shuddering. "What happened to the good old days, when all he wanted was Earth? Things were easier then."

"At least Zedd doesn't have the crown," Bridge said. "Even if he manages to find the jewels, they're useless to him without it."

"I guess that's something," Adam acquiesced. "But speaking of the jewels, where exactly did you hide them?"

"They're here," Sky said, producing a pearl the size of his fist and handing it to Adam. "The rest are hidden away in a vault."

As soon as Adam touched Brownbeard's Pearl, it reverted back to its original black diamond form, and Adam was no longer in Bridge's room. He was in Zedd's castle on the moon, navigating its dark narrow, corridors. He came to the Chamber of Command, and was startled to see the _Corona Aurora_ beside Zedd's throne. Before he knew it, he was in Goldar's dark dimension. There was an old man chained to the wall. He was dreadfully, morbidly skinny. His bones could be seen through his torn clothes. With every ragged breath, his ribcage became more defined, threatening to burst free of the weakened flesh. The Fog of Morpheus enshrouded him, slowly lulling him to death. With a start, Adam recognized the logo on the sleeve of the man's crusted uniform: the symbol of the Overdrive Rangers.

_Mack…_ Adam thought in horror. As if in response, Mack stirred, his eyes fluttering open. They stared straight at Adam.

"_Help me."_

And then the Ranger's journey was over. He blinked his eyes, and found himself in SPD's medical bay. _How did I end here?_ He moved his hand, only to find that someone was holding it. He looked over to find Kim sitting beside his bed, dozing. Adam had half a mind to simply lay still, to hold on this moment, to hold her hand just a little longer. But he needed to know why he was here.

With a sigh, Adam called Kim's name. She stirred slightly. He called her again. She was fully awake now, and she hugged Adam tightly.

"You're awake!" she said excitedly.

Adam's mind went blank for a bit, but he eventually returned to earth.

"Kim, I kinda need to breathe."

"Oh, sorry!" Kim said, letting him. "It's just that you were out for a long time. I was worried."

"What happened?"

"Bridge said you spaced out in his room. They tried to rouse you, but you would come out of it. That was about four hours ago. It's tomorrow."

Something pricked his other hand; it was balled into a fist. He opened it to reveal the black jewel of the _Corona_.

"I think the jewel showed me a vision." Kim raised an eyebrow, and Bridge walked in, with heaps of buttered toast.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, smiling. "Hungry?"

Adam nodded, taking a few pieces. Bridge offered some to Kim, but she declined.

"No thanks, I've had my fill of those today." Bridge shrugged, more for him!

"So what happened to you?" Bridge asked through mouthfuls of toast.

"The jewel showed me a vision," Adam replied. "Bridge, Zedd has the crown." Bridge choked on his toast. He struggled for a bit, then managed to swallow it down.

"He also has Mack. Somehow, Zedd found a way to turn him old."

"But that would mean that he's found a way to manipulate time…"

Adam nodded. "That would explain how Goldar's still around, and the Lizzinator, and the Minotaur. Bridge, do we still have those two locked up?"

"They are both still in their containment cards. Why?"

"If they're still alive, that means that the original Rangers hadn't beaten them yet. We have to figure out a way to send them back, so there isn't a repeat of the Timeforce Incident."

"I'll see if Kat can work something up."

Just then the alarms wet off.

"Damn it," Kim swore. "That's probably one of Zedd's monsters now."

"And we can't morph…" Bridge thoughtfully, looking furtively at Adam. Adam, for his part, was oblivious to Bridge's staring, but Kim was not, and now she was staring too.

* * *

Kim rushed along with Kat and the SPD doctors as they raced Adam into the medical bay. Bridge and Kira were hurt too, but their wounds were not fatal. Kim had watched in horror as Goldar managed to penetrate Sky's force field and impale Adam with his sword. But he hadn't stopped there. Intent on revenge for the humiliation the Black Ranger dealt him, he continued to slash at Adam's body. By the time the others had pushed him back, Adam was barely recognizable. Syd and Z had been able to beat Goldar back and forced him to retreat, thanks to their genetic powers. But the damage was done.

Kim was crying as she was told she could go no further, as she watched them take away the man she loved. Because she knew now. While she had sat in the infirmary and held Adam's hand, felt it grow cold, and stared his motionless body, she'd had her moment of truth, her epiphany. Adam was the one person she couldn't bare to lose. She loved Adam. And as she stared at the spot where Adam had been a moment before the doctors wheeled him away, she had another epiphany: the man she loved was dying.


	12. Leapfrog

CHAPTER TWELVE: LEAPFROG

_I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore,_ Adam thought as he studied his surroundings. He was in a garden of some kind, a sanctuary of grass, trees, and shrubbery. The trees were placed so that they encircled a vast pond. It took him a minute, but Adam finally recognized the place: he was in the courtyard of the Temple of Power, where Ninjor had given him his ninja powers, the place where he had bonded with his animal spirit.

_But how did I get here?_ Adam wondered. _The last I remember, I was fighting Goldar…_and then the memories came rushing back: the Sentinel Knight crashing down to Earth, using the power of the grid to keep him alive, and Goldar's attack.

_He injured me,_ Adam thought suddenly. _He ran me through with his sword._ Adam unbuttoned his shirt and examined his chest. There were three long, deep gashes running from his right shoulder to the left side of his torso, where the sword had slice his skin. There was also a gap about three inches wide where Goldar had impaled him. The wounds were open and they stung, but they did not bleed.

_Kim! _Adam thought in a panic._ Where is she!? And the others!?_ None of them had been able to morph; the others could also be injured…or dead. The thought filled Adam with despair…and anger.

_If he hurt __**her**__…_ Adam shook his head, clearing it of dark thoughts. But as he did so, another thought entered his head.

_Am I dead?_

_**Not yet.**_

Adam jumped back, wincing from the sudden intrusion into his mind.

_**Forgive me,**_ the man said. _**I did not mean to startle you.**_

"Who are you?" Adam asked, though he did not know whom he was addressing; there was no one else in the garden.

_**I am a friend.**_

Adam could believe that. Somehow, the voice in his head did not feel foreign; he felt no malice in it. Instead, he found that he felt comfort in its presence. He felt connected to the voice, as though he'd known the force that animated it for years.

_**Yes, Adam, you have.**_

Adam scanned the garden again, searching. He heard a small, croaking sound come from the pond. Upon further inspection, he found that the sound was coming from a small frog that was sitting idly on a lily pad, watching him.

"My animal spirit," Adam murmured softly to himself.

_**Yes.**_

Adam watched as the frog as it leapt from lily pad to lily pad. When it reached the other end of the pond, the frog turned and stared at Adam again.

_**Come. **_

Adam steps onto the first lily pad, and he is struck by a vision. There is a floating island. It is lush, and green. Beasts of immeasurable size roam its forests and fly its skies. There was also a woman, dressed in a white gown and a crown of flowers. Adam recognized the place immediately; he'd heard about it from We's stories: this was Animarium. The woman was Princess Shayla.

_**Witness the beginnings of power.**_

Adam saw Ninjor building the Temple of Power. With his help, Shayla's warriors learn the way of the Ninja: they bond with the animal spirits. One of their number, Merrick, succumbs to the darkness and becomes Zenaku. Nevertheless, the Ninjetti were able to triumoh over Zenaku, and the monster he served, the vile Master Org. Peace reigned, and Animarium returned to whence it came. The vision fades.

Adam moves on to the second lily pad, and he is bombared by yet another vision.

_**A new evil arises, as does a new generation of heroes to fight it. **_

Zordon arrives on Earth, on the trail of Rita Repulsa, an evl sorceress. Animarium returns. Zordon builds his Command Center, and enlists the help of the Ninjetti. But Rita and her army of monsters were far more powerful than Master Org. The Ninjetti were decimated, and Animarium was banished to another realm, where it would stay for decades. Within his Temple, Ninjor fashions the power coins and infuses them with the spiritual energy of dinosaurs.

The six coins are given to remaining Ninjetti to enhance their power. The dragon warrior is slain, and his coin falls into Rita's possession. Using its power, Rita imprisons Zordon in a time warp.

In their final battle, the five warriors were able to trap Rita in a hyper lock chamber, which was then banished into space. Earth was safe again.

Adam steps onto the third lilypad. It shows him a vision of his own adventures as a Ranger, fighting Rita and Zedd, Mondo, Divatox, and Thrax. He sees himself leave his friends behind as he travels to the future. Wes Eric, T.J., and Jason are called upon to fight Mirloc. They all die, but not before Wes uses the last of his strength to capture Mirloc.

A small boy is in a hospital waiting room, sitting next to his mother. He is crying. An SPD officer salutes them both, and hands the child Wes's helmet: the visor is broken, and the helmet itself is blackened and charred.

Adam felt tears sting his eyes. So this was what befell his friends. _I should have been there! I could have helped them! Poor Sky…_

The vision shifts, and Adam is in Florida. He sees Kimberly practicing on a balance beam. His heart skips a beat…or two.

"Kim!" a voice yells. "Call for you!" Kim goes to the phone.

"Hello," She says. "Rocky?" she asks, surprised. She listens for a while, and then begins to tear up. When she speaks next, her voice is uneven.

"He's missing?" she asked, her voice cracking on the final syllable. "But that's impossible! How can you go missing inside a base that's full of Rangers!?"

Kim was on her knees now, leaning on the wall, hugging herself. All Adam wanted to do was reach out to her. To hold her, tell her everything was okay. But he couldn't do that, all of this had already happened.

The vision dissipates. There is one lilypad between Adam and the frog. Adam takes the final step forward.

Animarium is burning. Princess Shayla is dead, her warriors defeated. Ninjor is killed before he can build the Temple. Rita lies mangled and lifeless, never to become the Mystic Mother: the Power Rangers would never come to be. At the center of all the chaos stood a newly corporeal Lord Zedd, his sliver staff gleaming, the _Corona Aurora _atop his head.

The vision ends, and Adam comes face to face with… himself, the frog nowhere to be seen.

"Where is my animal spirit?" Adam asked.

Pseudo-Adam replied, "I am Kaeru, the manifestation of your animal spirit."

Kaeru looks exactly like Adam, except for his eyes, which were a vivid green. They gave the impression of fluidity, as though they were miniature pools.

"That vision you showed me…"

"Is what shall come to pass when Zedd recovers the jewels and uses them in conjunction with the crown. He will use their power to travel back in time and prevent the birth of the Ninjetti, destroying his enemy before it is born. This will allow him to conquer this Earth, as well as those that exist alongside it, without opposition.

"It also presents him with the opportunity to exact his revenge on Zordon, the man who stripped him of his power and his body."

"_**When**_ he recovers the jewels?" Adam asked. "But that means… that means we fail."

Kaeru nods.

_They are all going to die,_ Adam thought furiously. _Bridge, Kira, Sky, Syd, Z, and __**Kim**_. _They are all going to die. __**She**__ is going to die._

Adam takes a deep breath, willing himself to stop shaking. Kaeru watches him with a cool disinterest.

"I brought you here because there is still a way to prevent that future from coming to pass, but it will require much effort and sacrifice on your part."

Adam thought of Kim, and steeled himself. "What do I have to do?"

Kaeru gives Adam a grim smile, and dissipates into the air. Adam hears his whisper in his head.

_**Come.**_


	13. Grief:The Arrival

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GRIEF/THE ARRIVAL

Bridge let out a sigh as he stared at the wall. Normally, doing a handstand and staring at something serene and unfeeling (like a wall) helped keep out the voices, the foreign thoughts and emotions, easing the burden of his turbulent mind. But things hadn't been normal for a long time.

Worry and fear ran rampant throughout the SPD Base. The Sentinel Knight had yet to wake, and the Morphing Grid was straining to keep him stable, so the Rangers were still cut off from their morphing powers. Monster attacks had become more frequent as Zedd's forces grew. Thanks to Adam's vision, the Rangers knew that the _Corona Aurora_ was in Zedd's possession, and that he held an aged Mack Hartford prisoner in the Dark Dimension, lulling him to death with the Fog of Morpheus.

_Adam._ The Black Ranger had been comatose for almost a month now, with no clear signs of improvement. Though there were times when his vitals spiked, and Kim would swear that she saw him move, a shudder here or a twitch there, the moment would pass, and hope faded away. Without the protection of the Ranger suits, injuries became common among the Rangers, and soon Syd and Z joined Adam in the infirmary.

Everyone, from the cadets to the Zord mechanics to the kitchen staff, was afraid. Bridge had a hard enough time dealing with his own grief, dealing with the fact that three of his best friends were near death. But he also felt the emotions, in this case, the fear, panic, and despair, of the people around him. Everyone on base held turbulent emotions to some degree, and it was slowly driving him insane. Bridge now often found himself cowering in a corner of his room, and crying himself to sleep as a result of being unable to bear the onslaught on his mind. Now for the most part, Bridge was okay; he accepted his ability, but it was times like these that made him wish he wasn't an empath.

Bridge sighed again as he righted himself and smoothed out his uniform, thinking that perhaps something else to focus on, maybe a lap around the obstacle course, would help clear his mind. He stepped forward, staggered, and collapsed into a convulsion. He spasmed uncontrollably, the pain growing stronger by the millisecond. He dragged himself to the door, leaning on it for support as the convulsions continued. His breath came in short gasps as his chest constricted; he felt as though a great pressure had been pressed upon it. Now matter how hard he tried to calm himself, to discipline his mind, to find _**himself**_ in this ocean of grief, he could not do it. He was drowning in the despair.

Bridge's mind was filled with visions that were not his own. He watched in horror, a slave to the pain as Adam and Goldar fought each other. He saw with agonizing clarity how the bastard's blade slashed and sliced, how deeply it had impaled itself into the Black Ranger's frail flesh. He heard Kimberly's piercing scream as Adam slowly tumbled towards the ground, towards the darkness of sleep. His heart broke in two as he saw Kim beat against the dome of Sky's newly formed shield, tears in her eyes and desperate to break free, to run to the man she loved.

"Ahh!" Bridge screamed as the pain reached new pinnacles of torture. How could anyone have this much despair in them!? He grabbed his head, tearing at his hair, willing the pain to subside… to no avail.

But then, as quickly as it had come, the pain stopped. Bridge tried to stand, and his legs buckled under his weight, He tried again, slower this time. Finally able to steady himself, he exited his room, searching for the source of all the sorrow, all the pain. He ungloved his right hand and moved it in arc in front of him, searching for an emotionally disturbed aura. He found it quickly enough. It was crimson, but not the crimson of fire, of passion. It was a crimson of the darkest quality. A fluid red; a blood red. And black; the black of consuming sorrow.

Warily, Bridge followed it. He didn't want to re-experience the last few seconds. Weaving between cadets, he finally found the person he was looking for, she was headed towards the infirmary. As she turned to enter, Bridge caught a glimpse of her face: _**Kim**_. She was the one who was suffering, fighting against an all-consuming pain. He was about to approach her, to try and comfort her, when the entire base shook, electric spikes conducting themselves along its walls.

_What the hell?_ Bridge thought as he raced to the observation deck, Sky not far behind. What the two Rangers saw when they got there was shocking, to Sky especially.

They raced to the courtyard, and stood facing six Time Force Rangers. Timeforce Red removed his helmet, going into standby. He had blue eyes. His hair was blond, but slicked back in an unfamiliar fashion.

Nevertheless, Sky recognized him immediately.

"_**Dad?"**_

Kim had felt the tremors that had rocked the base, but she didn't really care. The others would handle whatever was happening, she needed to see him. He'd fought for a month, but his vitals got weaker with every day that passed, who knew how long he'd last? How much time she had left with him? She sighed. All that lost time. She regretted every letter she left unanswered, that had separated her from him. By her own choice. Now they would never have a chance.

"I love you," she whispered, leaning down to kiss his cold, unmoving lips. The heart monitor flared, and Adam's vitals soared. The monitor settled into a steady rhythm: _BEEP BEEP BEEP_.

Kim smiled and cried in relief: Adam was back with her.


	14. Resurrection

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: RESURRECTION

For the first in over a month, Adam Park opened his eyes. He blinked, temporarily shutting out the brightness that burned and blinded him. It took a bit, but his eyes finally adjusted.

_Where am I?_ Adam thought as he took stock of his surroundings. _Where is Kaeru?_ The last he remembered, Adam had been communing with his animal spirit, in the gardens of the Temple of Power. How did he get back to SPD?

_**Come.**_ That had been Kaeru's final word, his edict. But go where? Adam had no idea what Kaeru meant. All he **did** know was that he and his friends were doomed to fail. His spirit had told him that there was a way to stop Zedd, a way to prevent him from ruling this Earth and those that run parallel to it. But Kaeru was also cryptic; he would say no more on the subject, other than that it would require great sacrifice. He seemed to enjoy the thought of it. Adam sighed. Of all the animal spirits in creation, why did he have to get the sadistic one?

Suddenly, Adam felt himself accosted by a great weight. It bore down on him with such strength that it left him breathless.

"Adam!" A voice yelled in pure delight. Adam smiled. He knew that voice.

"Kim," he said hoarsely. "Can't…breathe!"

Kim immediately let him go. Adam sat up and caught his breath. He looked over at Kim, noticing her tear-stained eyes. He stood and returned her embrace with as much force, if not more, than her own.

"I'm glad you're back," she whispered against him.

"Me, too."

The news spread throughout the Base like wildfire: the Black Ranger was back, alive and well! The Black Ranger had fought Zedd's forces before and won. He had defeated Thrax, a scion of Zedd's bloodline. He was their leader, the standard around which they would all rally. The Black Ranger was back: It gave them all hope, a quality which was greatly needed…and had been sorely missed.

But none of that mattered to Schuyler Tate at the moment. What mattered was that he was standing less than three feet away from his dead father, apparently raised from the dead, and the fact that he felt nothing but cold indifference from the man. He stood at attention with the rest of the Time Force Rangers, men and women Sky had heard stories about from the cradle. His posture was strictly military: back straight, feet together, hands clasped behind his back. His face was expressionless. If anything, it seemed as if he and his team were awaiting orders. His entire demeanor screamed "soldier." Except his hair, which was longer than regulations allowed. It was gelled, slicked back in a way that was eerily familiar to Sky… something from the stories his father used to tell him when he was young, about a man who had looked exactly like him.

"Dad?" Sky tried again. No reaction, save perhaps for a distinct furrowing of the brows, undetectable by anyone but Sky, who had been close enough to his father to be able to discern his facial expressions, and the emotions they conveyed. At the moment, the man was confused.

Sky tried again. "Alex?" Again, the same, indistinct furrowing of the brows. This lead Bridge to perform a reading on the newly arrived group. He briefly passed his hand over them, stared at the auras his gift revealed.

"It's not him, Sky," he whispered in his friend's ear. Or Alex. His aura is different from both of theirs."

Sky nodded, digesting the information. "And the others?"

"I can't really say," Bridge supplied. "I never met the Time Force Rangers, so I never got a chance to examine them. But if one of them is different…"

"Then so are the others," Sky said. Bridge nodded. The SPD commander turned his attention back to the man who so resembled his father.

"What is your name, Ranger?"

The man saluted. "Sir! I am Commander Wesley Collins, Red Time Force Ranger, sir!"

Sky had half expected the answer, but it still both surprised and hurt him, though his face showed nothing of it.

"It seems we have much to talk about, Commander."

Anger seemed to flash in Wes's eyes. "Yes, we do."

Adam sat next to Kim as Sky interrogated the newly arrived Time Force. Adam, who knew now _exactly_ how Wes had died, had been just as shocked as Sky had been when suddenly confronted with his old friends' face. He still had a hard time thinking of _this_ Wes as Wes, when the Wes he knew was no more.

Then again, he wasn't really paying much attention to the conversation; he was more focused on the woman who, at the moment, was leaning against him with her arm linked through his, and grasping his hand with hers. Her head rested comfortably on his shoulder. Whenever Adam moved, even by the slightest inch, Kimberly moved with him, and tightened her grip, as though she were afraid to let him go. He didn't know what prompted her behavior, but he wasn't complaining: Adam liked being close to Kim, it felt right.

At the moment, Kim was struggling to stay awake, and Adam wished she would just go to sleep. From what Kira had told him when he'd been released from the infirmary earlier, Kim had been to see him everyday, and stayed well beyond visiting hours. She was also having trouble sleeping; she kept having nightmares.

He looked down at her face, watching as exhaustion finally won out and she closed her eyes, snuggling closer to him.

_No one would fault her for trying to get some rest,_ Adam thought. Without stopping to think about it, Adam bent down and gently kissed her brow, bringing a small smile to Kim's face.

Just then Bridge and Kira enter Sky's office, which right now doubled as an interrogation room, carrying trays laden with mountains upon mountains of buttered toast. Adam rolled his eyes and Bridge smiled as he and Kira passed out the goodies to everyone in attendance: Sky, Dr. Manx, Xander and Tori all got one. (Xander and Tori were called in at Adam's request.) Even the Time Force Rangers got some toast.

Bridge comes to a stop in front of Adam. "Want one?" he asked, smiling widely.

"Sure…" Adam replied as he hesitantly picked up a piece. _I wonder what's up with him…_

As he thought this, Adam realized that Bridge was looking at Kim, and everything clicked into place… sort of.

Adam shot his friend a look that said, _You know something don't you?_

Bridge said nothing. Instead, he returned Adam's glare with one of his own, one that said solid, resounding _Yep! _

Remembering that telepathy is among Bridge's gifts, Adam changed tactics, and sent his next thought directly into Bridge's mind.

_And you're not telling?_

_Nope! _came the reply, with just a hint of mirth behind it.

_You're enjoying this,_ Adam accused.

_Just a bit. _Bridge smiled again as his silent laugh echoed in Adam's mind. Bridge walks away, and he and Kira sit together, hand in hand. Adam raises an eyebrow. Still smiling, Bridge jerks his head toward Sky, indicating that they should start paying attention. Sighing, Adam decided to let the matter rest for now, and turned his attention to the business at hand, all the while making sure nothing he did roused Kimberly from her sleep.

"Don't tell me you actually believe them!" Xander shouted, exasperated. "Time Force pops up out of nowhere, your _dad_ along with them, feed you a story about coming from a parallel universe, and you _believe_ them?"

"Wes's aura is different," Bridge offered, trying to keep things civil. " It's not the one he had before, which can only mean that this isn't the Wes we knew, it's a new one."

"But how could they have gotten here in the first place?" Tori asked. "They weren't exactly clear on that point."

"They used the zeo crystals," Sky said softly.

"Come again?" Adam asked, both confused and intrigued, and keeping his voice low, so he wouldn't disturb Kim, who was sleeping on the other side of the door.

"It was something my dad had been working on," Sky replied. "He thought he could use the power of the zeo crystals to manipulate something he called the veil, or the fourth wall: the barrier between dimensions.

"He had had an entire team of techs working on the project. He'd hoped, if the project was successful, to create a repository of Ranger artifacts: weapons, morphers, our entire history, on a plane separate from this one. He wanted to create a Hall of Power, a monument to Rangers past."

"What happened?" Kira asked.

Sky said nothing, so Bridge answered, "The project failed. During one of the tests, where our scientists tried to harness the power of the zeo crystals, there power spiked, causing a massive explosion. Those who were in the immediate vicinity when it happened, the scientists who were working on the crystals, were changed, mutated by the Power.

"Those scientists were our parents," Bridge said softly. "The accident that changed them, their genetic make-up, changed us, too."

"After that, the project was scrapped," Dr. Manx said.

Sky spoke up again. "I noticed as they filed in that each of them wore Zeonizers, in addition to their Chrono Morphers."

"And that corroborates their story," Adam said, understanding.

"How?" Tori asked.

"Their Earth is parallel to ours," Adam told her. "If my friend Billy's theories are right, and they usually are, this Earth is the source of all its other incarnations: Earth Prime. When Wes's project failed, a new, _parallel_ Earth was born, one where the project succeeded.

"Their Earth is fading, becoming non-existent. If their world is disappearing, then we should ask ourselves, 'what's going to happen to _this_ world?'"

Everyone stared at Adam for a second, not sure what to say, until Xander decided to break the silence.

"Killjoy." That got a small smile out of everyone.

The orb-like eyes opened, for the first time in what felt like eons. Once a startling, fluid emerald, they were now swirling with colors: yellow, green, black, pink, red and blue swirled together in those mystic pools ever-present, and yet ever fading: the resonance of newfound power. He stood from the bed, which, for all intents and purposes, had served as his grave. Memories came flooding back, of things past and things yet to come. He knew what he had to do. But to do it, he would need Adam: the Black Ranger was the key.

Strong once more, the Sentinel Knight strode from the SPD infirmary and out into a world which would soon fall into chaos, decadence, and death. If the mystic knight felt anything in this moment, it was a surge of resolve, and satisfaction at the knowledge that he had bested his old enemy: despite Zedd's best efforts to the contrary, the Sentinel Knight was back, resurrected.

_This time,_ the Knight thought as he traveled through the veil, _This time, I will not be the one who dies._


	15. Rescue

**A/N: The events of this chapter and Zedd's return to power happen simultaneously; the next chapter will detail Zedd's ascension. Thnx to everyone who's favorited/alerted this story, it means a lot. **

**Please Review**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: RESCUE

Adam's morpher was glowing. The solid, obsidian light encompassed the whole of his power coin. Adam had heard of this happening only once before: when the Green Ranger battled Zordon's Chosen, the original five, the morphers had glowed to signal Zordon's return and the restoration of their zords. For Adam's coin to be glowing now, and so brightly, could only mean one thing: the Power was back. The tingling sensation, as though a jolt of electricity had run up and down his spine, confirmed Adam's suspicions. He and the power were one again.

As he made his way down SPD's crowded corridors, Adam was accosted by various cadets, all of them awaiting orders. Monster attacks had once again increased in frequency. No doubt, Zedd was hoping to shatter the Rangers' weakened defenses while they couldn't morph. A few of his cronies had even managed to break through the patrols and managed to assault the base. That had been a bad day: they lost a lot of good cadets, and Boom and the rest of the Techs and maintenance engineers were still trying to repair the damaged wings of the base.

For the last two weeks or so, Adam taken operational control of the SPD base, sending out cadets in patrols in and out of Newtech City, each group headed by one of the Time Force Rangers, the only ones who still had the ability to morph. Because their power came from an alternate Grid, they were not hindered by SPD's efforts to keep the Sentinel Knight alive.

Ever since the Knight's departure, the Universal Morphing Grid had been working to restore itself to full capacity, and compensating for the Sentinel Knight, who now depended on the Grid for strength. Little by little, Adam had felt the Power returning, infusing itself into the coin and into him. If the jolt he'd felt earlier, and the radiance of his coin were any indication, Adam suspected that the Grid was now rebooted, so to speak, and they could now access their morphing powers.

But before he could test that theory, he needed to get rid of these cadets, who kept pestering him about patrol formations. He saw Wes, or Alternate Wes, as Adam often thought of him in his head, heading towards him.

_Help me!_ Adam mouthed to the man. Wes nodded, called the cadets' attention, and marched off with them.

"You owe me, Commander," Wes whispered as he marched on by.

Adam smiled and walked on. Commander Park. The appellation had startled him at first, when the Rangers started using it, but he was accustomed to it now.

Adam morphed, and was soon covered in the black, white trimmed garb of the Black Ranger. Beneath the helmet, the Ranger smiled. This meant he could finally put his plans in motion.

Ever since he had woken up from his coma, Adam had been giving Kaeru's words some serious thought. He still had no idea where Kaeru wanted him to go, and the spirit had not visited again, no matter had many times Adam had meditated and tried to commune with him. Despite this, Adam believed he now had a solution. The _Corona Aurora_ was a powerful object. But above all else, it was a _**mystical**_ object. The _Corona Aurora_ was magic, the most powerful magic ever to be bound in a mortal, physical form. And all magical items fell under the jurisdiction of the triumvirate, the trio of magi who oversaw the existence of all things arcane: the Tribunal of Magic.

Adam had talked this over with Xander, and he agreed: the Crown, while powerful beyond all mortal comprehension, was subject to the power of the Tribunal. However, Xander did not believe that the Tribunal would intercede if Zedd ever used the Crown's power. Adam disagreed. Xander's past experience with the Tribunal aside, if Zedd were able to gather the jewels of the _Corona_ and use it to restore himself and restructure all of existence, as Kaeru seemed sure he would, then Zedd would be disrupting the balance of Power, the force that animates and binds the universe. Surely, this was something the Tribunal would want to prevent, even if only to save themselves from destruction.

Powered down, Adam stood before the entrance to the infirmary, bracing himself. He went in to find Sky sitting beside Syd, in pretty much the same position he's been in for the past two weeks. Adam sighed softly. Though he knew Sky would never admit it, he had been really shaken up by Syd's injuries. He'd avoided this place for as long as he could, avoided having to face his emotions, his worry and grief, but they caught up to him in the end.

"Sky…" Adam started. No response.

"Sky," Adam tried again. Again, no response. Deciding that this was the best he was gonna get, Adam detailed his plan for Sky. Adam might be running the base at the moment, and the Rangers and cadets following his orders, but until Adam could find a way back home, Sky was _his_ commanding officer, his anguished mental state notwithstanding.

"Are you taking **him**?" Sky asked when Adam had finished, referring to Wes. That had been another emotional blow. Seeing his father brought back to life before his eyes, only to have him snatched away again. Because he knew the truth now. The new Wesley Collins was from an alternate Earth, a parallel Earth, where the choices of its inhabitants were the inverse of the choices of the people in this Earth. Here, Wesley Collins had been Sky's father. So by definition, Alternate Wes was _**not**_. And the man had remained completely indifferent in his attitude towards Sky.

"No," Adam replied. "Just my team." There was no way he was going to leave SPD unprotected, not while his friends were injured and the jewels needed safekeeping, not after the last assault. He would take Xander, Kira, Tori, and Bridge; the Time Force Rangers would stay on base.

Sky said nothing else, and Adam left to find his Red Ranger. As he walked, he thought it was high past the time that his friend choose a successor: SPD needed its Green Ranger. Especially now, when SPD Pink and SPD Yellow were still comatose, and Sky was in no condition to fight.

"What's up?' Bridge asked when Adam found him.

"Get ready to leave in an hour," Adam replied. "I'm going to find the others."

"Where are we going?"

Adam smiled grimly. "We're storming Zedd's castle."

The Tribunal of Magic was Adam's last resort. If they decide to intervene, they could only do so after the Crown has been used, once its magic has been called forth. If they wanted to stop Zedd from rising, they needed the Crown, and it was in Zedd's castle.

Adam was tired of the way things had been going the last few months. Zedd's monsters were always one step ahead of SPD, and the Rangers were caught in a blind pursuit, always giving chase, with no solid victories. The Rangers had been employing a defensive strategy up until now, and it hadn't gotten them anywhere. It was time to change things, hopefully in SPD's favor. Adam and his team would infiltrate the moon base, take the Crown and rescue Mack Hartford, who was still being held prisoner in Goldar's Dark Dimension: he wasn't going to last much longer, and Rangers never leave a friend behind.

Adam and the rest of the Retro Rangers stood in the Zord bay, staring up at the Astro Megaship, Mark II. The ship hadn't been used in years, not since Tommy led a team of Red Rangers against the resurgent Machine Empire. While there were others like it throughout the galaxy, this particular Megaship would be going on its first mission in a long time.

"Adam?" He turned, coming face to face with Kim. She hugged him tightly, squeezing the air out of him.

"Be careful, okay?" she whispered.

Adam was at a loss for words. While he enjoyed this newfound closeness, something he'd yearned for for years, he had no idea what brought it on. For years, Adam had written her letters, without ever receiving a response. It was as though she hadn't wanted anything to do with him, and it had hurt. Until he realized that while she never wrote back, she had never asked him stop writing, either. And that was what kept him at it: the knowledge that even if she didn't want to talk to him,(which still hurt) she at least liked hearing from him.

Heartened at the thought, Adam returned her embrace just as tightly.

"I will," he promised. With that, he walked away, to find that his team had already boarded and booted up the ship.

As she watched Adam walk away, Kim promised herself that when he came back, she would tell him the truth, the reason why she had never returned his letters. He deserved that much. When he got back, she would tell him everything.

For the fifth time that day,(if it was still day, he had trouble keeping time here.) Mack Hartford struggled to keep his eyes open. The Fog of Morpheus did more than enshroud the entire Dark Dimension with its mist. It seeped into your very bones, infusing you with an ache that would not subside. You just wanted to sleep, to make the ache go away. But Mack knew that if he slept, he would not wake up: The Fog of Morpheus induces eternal sleep.

Mack had heard from Adam how Billy, when forced into a similar situation, had managed to break free of the Fog. While Mack had never actually met the former Blue Ranger, he had always respected him. And know that he was taking a ride in Billy's shoes, so to speak, his respect for the man grew: He would have had to possess enormous inner strength to do what he did.

_Adam,_ Mack thought. _It was the weirdest thing. Here I am, trying not to die in this mist, and I see him appear out of nowhere, with a jewel of the Corona in his hand. I had to have been hallucinating; Adam's been dead a long time, ever since he disappeared from the SPD Base all those years ago._

But that didn't stop Mack from calling out to his old friend, asking, begging for his help. Mack was old now. Whether that was the effect of the Fog of Morpheus, or something else Zedd had done to him, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was old, and he was in pain, and he wanted the pain to end. He would never give in to Zedd; that would mean he won. But giving in to Adam's spirit, the man he fought beside, the friend he'd lost, that was something different. That was something he could do.

Mack's reverie was shattered by a Tenga being thrown, no, _thrust_ through the walls of the Dark Dimension., A huge, gaping, diagonal cut ran down from its chest to its torso. There was only one weapon capable of dealing a blow like that, but it was impossible…wasn't it?

His question was answered as the Black Ranger strode through the hole made by dying, convulsing mass that lay on the ground. He held his axe point down, blood dripping off onto the floor. Removing the blade blaster from its holster, The Black Ranger shot at Mack's chains, freeing him. He helped his friend up, letting the wizened Ranger put his weight on him.

"Easy, Mack," the Black Ranger said. "Easy."

"Adam? Mack asked, afraid to believe it was true, and at the same time afraid to believe it was a dream. "Is it really you? How are you still alive?"

"I'll explain later," the Black Ranger promised. "Right now, we've got to get you home."

"We?"

That was when Mack saw them. The striking yellow against white. The billowing, emerald cape. The man with dual blasters. And the ninja. The Yellow Dinothunder Ranger, the Green Mystic Ranger, the Red SPD Ranger, and the Blue Ninja Wind Ranger. Kira, Xander, Bridge, and Tori. His friends. His saviors.

"Man, am I glad to see you guys!" Mack exclaimed. Then he noticed that there was something off about them. They were all standing rigid, uncomfortable. The Black Ranger noticed too.

"Guys, what's wrong?"

The Green Ranger replied. "It's the Crown, mate; it's gone."


	16. Risen

**A/N: The events of his chapter happen at the same time that the Retro Rangers rescue Mack and discover the Crown is missing. I'd like to thank Digifiend for pointing out a mistake I made in the last chapter. It's fixed now, but I wouldn't have found it if you hadn't pointed it out, so thanks.**

**Please Review.**

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: RISEN

Kim felt Adam stiffen as she embraced him. She had to suppress the sad smile that her lips seemed determined to form.

_He's still_ _confused,_ Kim thought, with just a bit of annoyance at his endearing stupidity. _He has no idea where I'm coming from. Then again, I can't really blame him; it's not like I've done anything to help him make sense of our relationship._

"Be careful," she whispered to the man she loved.

A moment or two passed between them, until at last Adam returned her embrace.

"I will," he replied.

That did it. She'd have to let go now, before he could see her in tears. Despite her coldness to him in the past, her indifference to his attempts at a long distance friendship, and her current signals which hinted at a desired intimacy which no doubt was the root of his confusion, having compared her present behavior to that of the past, Adam was still her friend. He was still trying. She resolved then and there to tell him the truth the moment he got back: the reasons why she had ignored him all those years.

With that thought, the memory of her most recent nightmare sprang back into her mind, but she managed to push it aside.

_He deserves to know._ She watched as the Astro Megaship blinked out of existence, carrying her prince to the lair of their most dreaded enemy. Sighing, Kim made her way to the simulator for some training. She'd originally joined SPD to protect Adam, to try and alter history and make sure he made it home, back to 2010. She'd failed. Adam was injured. He slipped into a coma, and many believed he was going to die. While Kimberly welcomed the insight the experience had given her, the strength to recognize and acknowledge her feelings, she was determined that next time, she would not fail. She _**was**_ going to get Adam home.

She was about to enter the simulator when the alarms went off.

The Red Time Force Ranger held up his gloved fist, signaling his patrol to come to a dead stop.

"Sir?" one of the cadets whispered hesitantly. Beneath his helmet, Wes sighed. It was times like these that he wished he'd been given more experienced cadets. How were he and his team supposed to be stealthy if his cadets kept _talking_?

The Red Ranger gestured to spot about a hundred paces directly in front of their hiding spot. They had reached their target, and he could see Time Force Blue and his cadets on the target's other side, hidden from the enemy's view behind a plot of shrubbery.

Wes recognized the target from the history cubes he'd seen: the Samurai Fanman. With the ability to send you into another dimension, he was not someone to be taken lightly. The problem was that he was beaten by the original Six; Fanman was supposed to be dead and buried. This was further proof that Zedd had learned to manipulate time, without help from the _Corona Aurora._ It didn't make the job any harder: Wes and Lucas were Time Force: they detained criminals; they didn't destroy them, unlike the Rangers of the past. As far as workdays went, this was routine.

Rather, it _would_ have been routine, if his cadets could have just kept still. One of them, Wes couldn't tell who, stepped on a bramble, alerting target of their presence.

Cursing inwardly, the Red Ranger wasted no time. Summoning his Chrono Sabers, he charged at Samurai Fanman who, as far as he was concerned, was nothing more than a relic from a time of barbarism best left forgotten. His cadets followed close behind, immediately engaging the small contingent of Super Putties that served as the Samurai's vanguard.

The Red Ranger's Chrono Sabers met with the Fanman's own weapon, a quarterstaff which ended in a fan at one end. Red Ranger would have to be careful; he knew that one swipe of that fan could send him flying into an alternate reality, and he knew that the chances of sending him home were remote. Besides, his Earth probably didn't even exist anymore, if the rate of regression had remained constant. This was his home now, and he was _not_ about to lose it.

As saber and staff clashed yet again, Time Force Red caught Time Force Blue's rigid stance; he was ready to attack. As subtly as he could, the Red Ranger shook his head. Lucas and his team still had the element of surprise; they needed to save that for the right moment.

The Samurai lashed out with a fierce kick, forcing the Red Ranger to stumble backwards. Twirling his Chrono Sabers, he connected them at the hilts, forming a dual sword that was just about the size of the target's staff. He slashed, and disintegrated the Samurai's staff; the monster screamed in rage.

"Lucas!" the Red Ranger barked. "Now!"

Samurai Fanman turned at this, to find the Blue Time Force Ranger and his cadets, equipped with the Canine Cannon, primed and ready to fire. It was over for him; he'd be trapped in a three by five card for the rest of the foreseeable future. Beneath the helmet, Wes smiled. Another job well done.

But then the monster did something unexpected. He did not try to attack, a final, desperate salvo to save his life, to escape. There were no taunts, no promise of vengeance. Instead, he just laughed. He was trapped between two rangers and ten cadets, and he was _laughing_.

Behind the crimson visor, Wes' brow furrowed.

"Ranger, you are a fool."

"What do you mean?"

"As you and your foolish friends roam around in your pathetic attempts to safeguard this city, a full assault was mounted at the SPD Base; it's probably been razed to the ground by now."

The Red Ranger tightened his grip around his saber. _No, it's not true, we would've heard…_

"You cannot stop Lord Zedd. He will rise, and your world will end!" He continued to laugh maniacally. Someone screams, tearing the Red Ranger's attention away from the bastard. What he saw shocked him.

Goldar stood behind Time Force Blue, his sword impaled through the Ranger's chest, straight through. The Blue Ranger demorphed, leaving Lucas in its place. He crumpled. The cadets tried to fight the gold-plated primate, but they were no match for him. The Red Ranger raced to his friend's side. He quickly felt for a pulse, and sighed in relief: Lucas was alive, but barely. Since he had been in morph, the suit had taken the brunt of the attack, but he still needed medical attention, and fast.

As Goldar and the Samurai Fanman approached and Red Ranger cradled his dying friend, he came to understand the novelty, the fierce rage that made you want to put down your enemies, and the satisfaction that came with the knowledge that if you succeeded, they would _never_ harm another.

The Red Ranger charged the two monsters, only to be pummeled backward. Samurai Fanman unstopped the gourd he carried at his side. Red Ranger knew that the gourd was another dimension in and of itself. Once sucked into it, it was impossible to escape. The original Pink Ranger only managed it because the gourd had been accidentally unstopped as result of battle. And if one was trapped inside long enough, he would disappear forever. Through his tinted visor, Wes could do nothing but watch as he, Lucas, and the remaining cadets were consumed by the encroaching blackness.

The ground rocked every few minutes, a testament to the assault that had been mounted on the walls of the base. Outside, Zedd's forces had brought siege engines, and were using them to pummel downs the base's defenses. They had already succeeded in cutting off all communications: nothing could be sent to and from the base: they were completely cut off. Now, the SPD Earth Base had survived an all out invasion before, in the last days of Grumm's empire, but never something of this magnitude.

With Adam and his team off-planet, and Wes and Lucas on patrol, SPD's defense was lacking.

The Pink, Yellow, and Green Time Force Rangers led a group of cadets against the mass of Tengas and Super Putties, which had congregated just outside the entrance.

The Blue SPD Ranger was a blur. She fought with accuracy and lightning speed. Her delta max saber fell upon her enemies with a deadly grace, the weapon an extension of her arm, of her will. She may have preferred a bow, but she was no stranger to the sword.

As another putty fell before her sword, the Blue SPD Ranger had to wonder where Sky was. Well, actually, she knew where he was: he was still in the infirmary, sitting in the same position, with the same expression he'd had for weeks now. But surely, he knew of the battle raging just outside? Maybe Adam had been right, maybe Sky had finally broken.

Goldar and Samurai Fanman joined the fray. At the sight of them, the Blue Ranger experienced to separate, very distinct emotions: anger at the bastard that had injured the man she loved to the point of near death, and fear, paralyzing fear, at the monster which had imprisoned her in a mystical gourd, all those years ago. She would've spent her final moments in that horrible place; if the gourd hadn't been knocked about so hard that it had been forced open, setting her free. There had been no guarantee that if he was defeated, she would come back. And her freedom had come as the result of a happy accident. Kim was under no delusions: the time she had spent as the Fanman's prisoner had been the worst time of her life. She could have died at any moment, and though her friends managed to save her, she knew full well that they could have just as easily failed. Of all Zedd's and Rita's monsters she'd faced, this was the one she most feared.

Goldar engaged the Green Ranger in battle, and the Samurai challenged the Pink and Yellow Rangers. As their battle progressed, the Blue Ranger noticed that the monster missed several opportunities to trap his enemies in the gourd. It was almost as though he did want to open it… which could only mean that there were already people inside.

With that knowledge, the Blue Ranger was able to push her fears aside. Leaping over the Putties and Tengas, she landed gracefully in front of her old foe. Surprised, the Fanman recovered quickly. He made to grab the Blue Ranger, but she was too quick for him. She brought down her delta max saber on the gourd's stopper, but he deflected her blow.

"Nice try, puny Ranger, but you won't be saving any of your friends today." Just then he was hit with a barrage of blaster fire, and a blue streak came down and attacked him. The streak stopped and materialized on top of the SPD building. With the Shadow Saber in one hand and a delta max blaster in the other, the Shadow Ranger challenged his foe.

"Your days are numbered, Fanman!" Sirens could be heard in the distance. Beneath his helmet, Anubis Cruger smiled. Help had come to Earth at last. The SPD assault vehicles mounted a full-scale attack on the siege engines, destroying them, but not before one succeeded in creating a breach in one of the walls.

"Storm the base!" Goldar roared, his sword raised. As the surging mass moved forward, they were intercepted by several rounds of blaster fire. When the smoke cleared, the Red Time Force Ranger stood in their way.

"You!" the Samurai exclaimed in surprise. "How did you get out?" Beneath the helmet, Sky frowned, his brow furrowing. Slowly, understanding came over him. He said nothing. Instead, in one deft move, the Red Time Force Ranger used his Chrono Sabers to shatter the gourd's stopper. As the gourd hissed, Wes, still in morph, was spit out, along with an injured Lucas and a handful of cadets.

"Get them to the infirmary," the Red Ranger ordered.

"I'm fine, but Lucas is hurt," Wes said. As if to corroborate this, Lucas let out a small moan.

"Then get _him_ to the infirmary," the Red Ranger retorted. Wes nodded, and set about moving his friend back into the base.

"Commander Tate!" a voice exclaimed.

"Supreme Commander Cruger, sir" the Red Ranger replied, saluting.

"Commander Tate, why do I only see five Rangers here?"

"Cadets Drew and Delgado are injured, sir. Bridge is on mission with Commander Park and the others." _Damn it,_ Sky thought. _Now __**I'm**__ calling him Commander. Granted, he has been doing my job for the past few weeks._

For his part, the Shadow Ranger said nothing. He was not aware of the full gravity of the situation on Earth, and he had learned long ago not to doubt Adam's judgment.

"Commander," the Red Ranger continued. "The jewels are in the base."

"Then we'd better get back inside, Commander," the Shadow Ranger replied, and they raced back towards the base.

"So what made you decide to fight?" The Red Ranger turned to see SPD Blue running beside him. Her question made him think.

_He was sitting beside Syd, not really looking at anything in particular. Z was in the bed opposite hers. The one on the far left, which until recently had been Adam's, sat empty. He knew he shouldn't be so worried. Adam's injuries had been far more fatal, and he survived. And he was still fighting. But seeing the woman he loved struck down had really shaken him. And seeing his father again for the first time in years, alive and well. At first he'd been elated. But then he found out that this new Wes wasn't his father, that this Wes didn't even __**know**__ him. That had also hurt._

_Sky had no strength left. No spirit. He wasn't like Adam, he didn't have a reason to keep fighting. She was comatose, less than two feet in front of him. He couldn't just soldier on when he had nothing left._

_Then he heard Goldar give the order: "Storm the base!" And he realized he had it wrong. He did have a reason to keep fighting, and she was less than two feet in front of him. She might be in a coma, but she was __**alive**__. If Goldar had his way, she wouldn't be._

"I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself," the Red Ranger replied. "If I want my friends to get better, and to stop all this crap from happening, then I need to do that as a Ranger, fighting."

The Blue Ranger nodded, accepting his response. She knew her comrade well by now, and she understood what he left unsaid. She was fighting for someone too.

Goldar, Fanman, and the foot soldiers fought their way through the base, pillaging and ransacking, making their way to the vault in the SPD war room, and the Rangers raced to beat them there.

"Here is the vault," Goldar growled in triumph. In an incredible feat of strength, he ripped open the door to the vault. Once inside he proceeded to steal the jewels.

"Stop right there!" The Rangers stood between Goldar and the exit way.

"You are too late, humans," Goldar crowed. "The hour of the dark lord's ascendance is here."

And then Goldar was holding the _Corona Aurora_. He placed the jewels on its spires. He also produced a black box, emblazoned with an ornate, silver Z.

Realizing what was about to happen, The Red Ranger stepped forward, sabers in hand, only to be thrown back and blocked by Fanman.

Goldar opened the box, and a black mist poured out from it. It engulfed the room, and when it had emptied from the box completely, it coalesced into a floating, black mass.

"Lord Zedd lives again!" Goldar declared, and placed the Crown upon the swirling mist.

"No!" The Blue Ranger exclaimed.

The mist began to clear, and out of it rose a red arm,, plated in silver, and ending in silver-tipped fingers. Then a leg, and the other arm, brandishing a long, silver staff. The Blue Ranger took a step backward.

_This can't be happening… _she thought, as the face of her old enemy finally came into view, the Crown on his head.

Lord Zedd, now fully corporeal, stared at himself, and flexed his fingers.

"Oh, it is _**so**_ good to be back," he said softly.


	17. Council at Eltar

**A/N: The next two chapters will be longer, I promise.**

**Please review.**

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: COUNCIL AT ELTAR

Just as Lord Zedd rose back to power on Earth, a great gathering was taking place on the distant planet of Eltar. It was here, in what the annals of Ranger history would forever describe as the Council at Eltar, that the fate of Earth would be decided.

In attendance at this council were beings who could only be described as true pillars of Power, as they were able to not only harness the Power for themselves, but bestow it upon others as well. Beings who stemmed not _from _the Power, but _of _it: the Mystic Mother, Dimitria, Ninjor, and the Sentinel Knight.

"Before we attend to business, let us first have a moment of silence, in remembrance of Zordon, our fallen comrade," Sentinel Knight said. Nothing was said as they each remembered their old friend or, as in the case of the Mystic Mother, their old enemy. A man who, after her reformation, the Mystic Mother had come to respect, after having spent a considerable amount of time in his shoes.

"The situation on Earth does not bode well?" Dimitria asked.

"No," the Sentinel Knight responded. "It is as we feared: Lord Zedd has risen, and Space Patrol Delta's earth base has fallen."

"Surely the Tribunal of Magic-" Ninjor began, but was cut off by the Mystic Mother.

"The Tribunal of Magic refuses to intervene in a matter which, in their opinion, is the direct result of human folly. Moreover, since the Crown will remain behind once the world has been restructured to suit Zedd's whim, there will still be magic left in the world.

"They see no point in stopping what is about to happen."

"Those pompous, arrogant-"

"Ninjor!"

"Sorry, Dimitria."

The Sentinel Knight cleared his throat. "I summon Kaeru, Adam Park's animal spirit."

Adam's green-eyed doppelganger materialized in the center of the antechamber.

"Noble spirit," Dimitria said. "How fares Adam with the task you have set before him?"

Kaeru turned to face her. "I set the path before him, but he has yet to take the first step; he remains ignorant, my Lady."

"That will not do," Ninjor stated crossly. "The Black Ranger must earn his place among us!"

The Sentinel Knight held his hand up for silence, before the inevitable arguments spewed forth again.

"The Black Ranger was chosen by Zordon," he said, looking at everyone in the room.

"And I for one have faith in his judgment. I restored the Black Ranger's power because I believe he has the potential to save us all."

"That is all well and good," Mystic Mother said. "But Earth is in dire need of a Guardian."

"Yes," Dimitria agreed. "Someone who can protect it until such a time as the Black Ranger chooses to accept his destiny; a champion."

"Preferably, someone who has battled Zedd and his armies before…" Dimitria said, deep in thought.

The Sentinel Knight sensed that this council was coming to a close.

"You are all agreed then?" He asked. One by one, the others nodded.

The Sentinel Knight smiled. "If I recall, SPD Earth was in desperate need of a Green Ranger."


	18. Green Once More

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: GREEN ONCE MORE**

**Sorry it took so long. Please review.**

Things were not looking so good for SPD Earth. Lord Zedd had returned, and he now wielded the power of the _Corona Aurora_. He and his armies succeeded in overtaking the SPD base. The Rangers were all but run out of Newtech City.

_THEN_

"Oh, it is _**so**_ good to be back," Lord Zedd crowed softly.

SPD Blue stared at her old enemy in fear. Despite their many victories, Zordon's Chosen had never beaten Rita or Zedd, never faced them directly. They owed their victory in that war to Mondo, the Machine King, who banished them from their palace on the moon. Three years later, it was Zordon's energy release, his final sacrifice, that ended Zedd's evil, not the Power Rangers.

As Zedd stood before her, newly corporeal, SPD Blue was very aware of the fact that she was staring at the one enemy the Rangers had never been able to defeat.

"Hello, Kimberly," Zedd said, settling his crimson gaze on her. "It has been a long time. Forgive me, but as much as I have enjoyed this reunion, I'm afraid I shall have to cut it short. After all, I have several planets to conquer, a universe to restructure… and no pathetic power brats will stand in my way!"

With that said, Lord Zedd raised his staff, positioning it so that the ornate _Z_ was pointed at the Rangers. White lightning shot forth from the staff, striking his enemies.

SPD Blue grunted in pain. While the suit absorbed most of the impact, the attack still had enough strength left to sting. Delta Max Saber raised, SPD Blue charged at Lord Zedd. Shadow Ranger challenged Goldar, and Time Force Red fought with the Samurai.

Lord Zedd and the Blue Ranger danced around one another, each trying to find an opening in the other's defenses. Sword and staff meet with an audible clang, the sound of it reverberating off the walls.

There was a scream of pain to her right, and Fanman disappeared in a flash of crimson. Out of the corner of her eye, SPD Blue saw Time Force Red pick up the containment card. He and Shadow Ranger began to double team Goldar.

Every advance Zedd attempted was parried by the Blue Ranger's saber, and every advance _she_ attempted was blocked as well: they were even.

"I have fought ten of your kind," Blue Ranger," Zedd growled. "And none of you ever bested me. What makes you think you have the strength to beat me now?"

"I'm stronger now," was her response.

"So am I," Zedd said coolly, pointing smugly to the crown on his head. With a swift flick of his wrist, Zedd used the bottom end of his staff to trip the Blue Ranger's legs, flipping her onto her back; the pointed tip was now at her throat.

"You fought well," Zedd said as he raised his staff for the final blow. "Take comfort in that much, at least."

Shadow Ranger grunted with pain as Goldar's sword broke through his defense.

_It's funny,_ Kim thought as the staff came ever closer._ Goldar's had us cornered so many times. He trashed our zords with Cyclopsis. He trapped Jason, Tommy, and Billy in his Dark Dimension. He made Adam doubt his place as a Ranger with the Mirror of Regret. But he never managed to kill any of us. He never even came close._

_But now… he threw Adam into a coma, and put Lucas on his deathbed. Either he's gotten stronger, or we've gotten weaker… _

For some reason, the thought made her want to laugh. So she did. She laughed hard. Noting Zedd's angered expression above her, the Blue Ranger laughed harder. This way, at least she would rob Zedd of any pleasure he could have gained from her death.

The base rocked, sending everyone toppling. The _Corona_ fell from Lord Zedd's head, and he scrambled after it, as though he were in a panic.

Blue Ranger stood, her sword at the ready, just as the base was blasted again. Zedd called forth lightning from his staff again, and struck Blue Ranger in the chest.

A wall disintegrated as the base was blasted again.

"Adam!" Zedd exclaimed when the smoke cleared. "It's so good to see you again."

The Black Ranger said nothing. He just stood there, staring at his old enemy, at the crown on his head. His gaze fell to Shadow Ranger and Time Force Red, who was helping Shadow dress a wound. He sucked in a breath as he saw the Blue Ranger, her suit blackened and smoking. His grip tightened around the Power Axe.

The Black Ranger charged, his axe clanging against Zedd's staff with so much force that Zedd was forced back a step.

"This gets to be so tiring, Ranger," Zedd said, with both a hint of annoyance and amusement. "You could not kill me all those years ago. Why do you think you can now?"

"I killed your son," the Black Ranger retorted. "I can kill you."

Zedd roared in anger. As he focused all his attention on Black Ranger, Green Mystic led the others to the Astro Megaship, which was busy bombarding the base. When SPD Blue, SPD Shadow, and Time Force Red were onboard, Green Mystic went aground again, for the people in the infirmary.

"Are you guys okay?" SPD Red asked from the ship's bridge, his attention focused the ship's weapons system.

"We're fine," Time Force Red answered. "Just some small injuries."

Blue Wind Ninja Ranger emerged from one of the ship's inner rooms.

"How's Mack?" SPD Red asked.

"Stable," was her reply. "He's sleeping now. Kira's with him."

SPD Red nodded absently as he fired again.

There was a flash of emerald light, and Green Mystic appeared, with Syd and Z tied to gurneys.

"Incoming!" he yelled.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi!" SPD Blue whirled at the familiar expression.

"Alpha?" she asked in astonishment.

The gleaming robot turned to her. "Alpha 7, at your service." He turned back to helping Xander move the gurneys.

"Where's Adam?" Green Mystic asked as he prepared to go back.

"Earth side," SPD Red replied.

_Still?_ Kim thought with alarm.

She set her eyes on the large viewing screen, and she hated what she saw. He base was overrun; legions of tengas, super putties, and Zedd's generals swarmed over it. Time Force Yellow, Pink, and Green came aboard, each nursing wounds. The base itself was in flames; it was lost to them forever.

And she didn't see Adam anywhere.

A section of the base explodes, and the mushroom cloud's ash and debris interferes with the ship's viewing screen.

SPD Red stared at the screen, the phasers forgotten; his hands were shaking.

"Cadet Carson!" Shadow Ranger barked. No response. SPD Red had gone rigid.

Kim noticed that Tori had done the same.

"Are you alright?" Shadow Ranger tried again.

Bridge removed his helmet, going into standby. He turned to stare at Shadow Ranger.

"They just blew up the infirmary," he said lifelessly.

The smoke cleared, and Kim could see that he was right: the section of the base that held the infirmary was no longer there, it was reduced to rubble.

Lucas had still been in there. Xander had gone to retrieve him. Had they just lost two teammates? Two friends?

_Where's Adam?_

"Damn!" Bridge cursed.

"What's wrong?" Sky asked.

"They found the zord bay; they just sent out the S.W.A.T. Flyers."

"Can we take them?" Sky asked.

"Individually, sure. But together, no way," Bridge said. "You have no idea long it takes this thing to corner."

"Then get us out of here!" Shadow said.

"Adam's not back yet," Kim said softly. She and Bridge locked gazes for a moment.

"D.E.C.A.," Bridge said. "Prepare evasive maneuvers. Tori, transfer the auxiliary power to the shields."

_Thank you,_ Kim mouthed. Bridge smiled in response.

The S.W.A.T. Flyers were closing in fast. Sky took over navigational control of the ship, so Bridge could focus on firing.

One of the flyers was angling towards them, preparing to fire, but Bridge struck first, forcing it to double back. The other five were still coming.

A burst of obsidian light and silver sparks, and suddenly, the Black Ranger stood in their midst, injured Rangers on either arm. Dr. Manx and Boom stood at his back, each with a hand on his shoulder. Alpha 7 escorted Lucas away. Green Mystic collapsed and demorphed. Tori ran forward to help him up.

"Well," Xander said after a moment. "I know what I'm _never _doing again." That drew a few chuckles.

While she was happy that Lucas and Xander were safe, she only had eyes for the Ranger that stood before her, and looked like he was about ready to pass out.

Adam's visor was gone, damaged beyond repair; you could see shards of it on his face. The mouth guard was split. The uniform was torn at his chest, his legs, and his right arm was bare. The Power Axe hung from his belt: it was notched.

Adam demorphed. He and Kimberly walked towards one another. They hugged fiercely. Then she slapped him.

"I told you to be careful!"

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

She hugged him again. _Then_ he passed out.

Bridge laughed as he set the ship's engine to hyper drive; the remnants of SPD Earth left Newtech City, which would soon become the capital of Zedd's new empire.

…

_NOW_

The war was not going well. With no base of operations, other than the Astro Megaship, and no zords, SPD was nothing more than an annoyance to Zedd. San Angeles had been razed to the ground, despite the valiant efforts of the Overdrive Rangers. Turtle Cove was overrun in a day. Briarwood had become a garrison for Zedd's army.

Eventually, Zedd's power base expanded from the United States. Within weeks, he had conquered the entire western hemisphere. The whole of the American continent, from Canada to Brazil, was under his control.

With each victory on Earth Prime, he altered the energies that bound and connected the alternate Earths to each other. Wes' reality no longer existed.

But there was still some hope left. While Zedd seemed intent on wiping out anything that was in any way tied to the Power Rangers: their cities, their institutions, the Rangers themselves, there were two cities that Zedd had not touched: Reefside, and Angel Grove.

Angel Grove had not harbored Rangers for decades, but now there were rumors that a new Ranger, one the city had never seen before, had taken up its defense. Angel Grove had been the site for many losses on Lord Zedd's part, and he was wary of it now.

Reefside also has no Rangers, but it has _veterans_. Connor, Trent, and Ethan might not have the power anymore, but they were still able to mount an impressive defense against Zedd's monsters. So far, the city remains untaken. But there is a dark side to that story: their mentor, Tommy Oliver, considered by many in their circle to be the greatest living Ranger, had disappeared. It seemed that after years of failed attempts to recruit him, Zedd had finally put an end to his old enemy.

Adam was in his room, reading. Well, trying to read, anyway. He still had trouble, trying to figure out what it was Kaeru wanted him to do. He was also still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Cruger was a Ranger now. He hadn't seen that one coming. It seemed to have done him some good. He wasn't as…severe as he used to be.

Kim wasn't sleeping. He hadn't really noticed before, but now that their rooms were next to each other's, he could hear when she tossed and turned at night. Sometimes, she would wake up screaming, at which point, he would rush right over and try to comfort her. She would sit in his arms then, as silent tears rolled down her face, until she finally, _finally_, would fall asleep, for maybe an hour. She never said anything, and though he wanted to, Adam didn't push: she would tell him in her own time. Right now, it was enough that he be there for her.

But it didn't stop him from worrying, which, in turn, affected _his_ ability to sleep. Or focus on anything, really.

He finally put the book down, he wasn't getting any further with it tonight. He listened for a second, straining to hear something from the adjacent room. Nothing. Maybe she would be okay tonight.

He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes.

_A fortified citadel, deep in the mountain range that ran through Angel Grove. It was a familiar sight to Adam, he'd been inside the place enough times to know it like the back of his hand. The Command Center, called the Power Chamber by later generations. To Adam's knowledge, the place had been ransacked and summarily destroyed by Divatox and her army, but here it stood, as new and as strong as the day it was first built._

_Kaeru appears before Adam, his green pool-like eyes boring into his._

"_Come," he says._

Adam opened his eyes.

_Could this be what he meant? _Adam thought. _Could it really be that simple?_

"What's up?" Sky asked when Adam entered the control room. He walked over to Sky and punched in coordinates.

"We're going to Angel Grove," was his reply.

"How is that thing still standing?" Bridge wondered aloud. "I thought it was turned to rubble."

"It was," Adam told him. He remembered T.J.'s stories.

"Then how-"

"I don't know."

They stood before the entrance to the Power Chamber, its wall adorned with ancient runes.

"So…" Kira said after a moment. "How are we supposed to get in again?"

"Oh, right!" Adam said, fumbling with something. "You need a power coin to get in."

Once inside, Adam was struck with waves of nostalgia. He'd spent a lot of time here. Kim was astounded, staring everywhere. She'd never seen the Power Chamber in its later incarnations.

"Welcome, Rangers," a voice said. They all whirled around.

"What in the-" Wes began, but Adam cut him off. He was smiling.

"Dimitria," he said. "It's good to see you again."

"And you as well, Adam."

"I'm sorry,' Kim said, staring at the woman. "But who are you?"

"Dimitria took Zordon's place for us, when he and Alpha 5 left for Eltar," Adam explained.

"Oh."

"But I don't understand," Adam continued. "How is any of this possible? The Power Chamber was destroyed."

"Yes, it was," Dimitria replied. "It has been restored, through the powers of the Sentinel Knight."

Adam nodded. His friend had been busy, it seemed.

"In addition to the Power Chamber," the old zords have been restored as well. They have been stored beneath us, in the zord bay." The Rangers all looked at each briefly. While they had read about this place and its importance in the days of Zordon's Era, the files they'd studied had been incomplete.

But Adam and Kim raced to the door. The others followed.

"No way," Sky said.

"All right!" Bridge exclaimed.

"We have a fighting chance now," Cruger said.

Adam was stunned. He was seeing it, but he had trouble believing it. Every zord he had ever piloted was here. The original Dinozords. The Thunderzords. The Ninjazords. The Shogunzords. The Zeo zords and Turbo vehicles. They were _all_ here! Hell, the Dragonzord, Tigerzord, and Rescue Megazord were here too. But there was something off about the Dragonzord. Its right arm was damaged, as though it had been in battle recently.

_Well,_ Adam thought. _There __**have**__ been rumors of a Ranger defending Angel Grove. But there was only one person who could ever effectively control that thing…_

He pushed the thought out of his mind. Tommy had been missing for months. If he was back in the game, they would heard by now.

The alarms went off. The Rangers rush back to the upper level of the Power Chamber.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

Behold the viewing globe," Dimitria said. "While Zedd has not attacked Angel Grove with the same frequency he once did, he has been sending out monsters, to test the city's defenses. So far, the Green Ranger has been successful in foiling his attempts at conquest."

"_The Green Ranger?"_ Xander asked.

"Behold the viewing globe," Dimitria said again. So they did, and watched in astonishment as SPD Green did battle with Zedd's latest monster.

"_What the…how did he get my old scanner?" _Bridge exclaimed.

But Adam couldn't care less about that. He was more interested in the Ranger's weapons: he' d noticed that the Dragon Dagger hung from his belt. And he fought in a style that was at once both familiar and astounding to Adam. Kim linked her arm through his: she recognized it too.

The monster went down in a flash of sparks. SPD Green picked up the containment card, and was gone in a burst of emerald light.

He appeared before the others in the Chamber, in standby mode.

Kira recognized him at once, though Adam and Kin had to do a double take, they'd never see him with cropped, spiky hair before.

"Dr. O?" Kira asked.

Tommy Oliver smiled. "Hi, guys."


	19. Nightmares

_**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I'd like to thank the true elec, who pointed out a mistake I made in the last chapter. I've tried to fix that here. Also thx to everyone who's reviewed/subscribed/favorited, and puts up with my gap between updates. I really appreciate it.**_

_**A/N 2: I know in the Turbo movie he's called Maligore, but in PRIS he's Dark Spectre, and Divatox makes a reference to the movie, so I'm using that name instead.**_

**Please Review**

CHAPTER NINETEEN: NIGHTMARES

"This is bad," Xander commented to no one in particular. "Really disastrous. Did I mention that this was bad?"

"Only about a thousand times," Kira told him, irritated.

"It bears repeating."

Wes stood in the corner, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, staring as Alpha Seven ran bimolecular scans on the comatose forms of Trip, Lucas, Katie, and Jen.

"Well?" Wes asked.

"It is as we feared," Alpha Seven replied. "Your world has disappeared, along with everything that was part of it." He gestured to Wes' friends.

Wes sighed. They'd had this argument before. "We left that world. We were not in it when it faded out of existence."

"But you are of it," Dimitria said. "You are not of this world. Your presence here clashes with the existence of your counterparts in 3027, who _are_ of this world."

Wes thought for a moment, letting that sink in. "But if that's true, and we're _all_ dissipating, being absorbed by our counterparts here, then why haven't _I _felt the effects?"

"The Wesley Collins of this Earth died long ago. There is nothing to hinder your existence in this world. You are, in effect, _the new Wesley Collins."_

"A lot of good that does me," Wes muttered, absently fingering his now powerless Chrono Morpher; when his Earth disappeared, so did the Morphing Grid his powers were tied to. He and his friends were in a strange new world, twisted by Zedd, and they were powerless.

Tommy put a hand on Wes' shoulders, to comfort him, but Wes shrugged him off.

"Wes," Adam said. He looked up.

"We _will_ fix this, Wes. We _will_ reverse what Zedd has done. Your friends _will_ get better, and we _will_ get you home. I promise."

Wes stared at Adam for a moment, then said, "I'll hold you to that, Commander."

"And how will we do that?" Cruger asked, ever the practical one. "Newtech City is overrun, and we've lost almost half our strength. We can't just march back and kill Zedd"

"We don't have to kill him," Sky said suddenly.

"How do you figure?" Bridge asked.

"When you fired on the base, you sent everyone toppling. You remember, right Kim?"

"Yeah…" Kim replied, not sure where Sky was going.

"The crown fell from Zedd's head…" Sky said, smiling now.

"And he scrambled after it," Kim finished, catching on. "Like his life depended on it."

No one said anything for a while, then Tori spoke.

"It makes sense. Zedd used the crown's magic to give himself a new body, a new life. The crown should be able to take everything back, restore everything to its original state; that includes Zedd."

"Back to mist," Xander said, nodding.

"But to get the crown, we'd have to storm Newtech City," Kira said. Silence again.

"First things first," Adam said, turning to Dimitria. "How can we keep Trip, Lucas, Katie, and Jen from dissipating?"

"Their genetic make-up is identical to their counterparts on this Earth. Completely identical, unlike twins, who carry miniscule genetic differences.

"Two of the same being cannot exist at once. One is given preference over the other. In this case, _these_ Time Force angers are being absorbed by the original. To stop this, their genetic makeup must be altered."

"You're talking about power," Adam said.

Dimitria nodded. "An infusion of power should alter their genes sufficiently."

"But they had powers before," Wes said. "And they still began to fade."

"They _did_ have power; power identical to those held by their counterparts. Power that altered them in all the same ways."

"But the power is gone now," Bridge said. "And their genes back to their original form. Shouldn't dissipation stop?"

"The process is self-perpetuating," Alpha Seven said. "It cannot stop on its own, and their genes are still similar enough to be absorbed, regardless.

"But infusing them with power should alter them enough to stop the process. Connecting them to the Morphing Grid should also further cement their link to this world."

"Where on earth will we find a new power source?" Tori asked.

"We don't need to, Adam said. Everyone stared at him. He gestured to Wes' right arm, which bore the zeonizer.

"The Zeo crystals are dead," Wes said. "We used all their energy to get here."

"But we can reenergize them, with the power from our Zeo crystals," Adam said. "Right?" He turned to Tommy for confirmation.

They all turn to look at Tommy. He hadn't said anything yet, and truth be told, they'd forgotten he was there.

"I'm not sure. The Zeo crystals were the power source for the Turbo powers. When T.J. and I fought on the moon, the power of the crystal was split between us. It can be divided, but transferred completely? You'd have to ask Billy, he knows more about the crystals than anyone alive."

"But aren't the Zeo crystals in SPD custody?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Adam said. "But the original Wes never kept them on base. He kept them in a safe, in his mansion at Silver Hills. They should still be there."

Without a word, Sky left.

"Where's he going?" Wes asked.

"To Silver Hills," Bridge said.

"He knows where the house is?"

"He grew up there." Wes raised an eyebrow.

Bridge cleared his throat. "Sky is Wes' son."

Wes stared at the spot Sky had just vacated. It made sense now. It didn't before. When they had first arrived, Sky had called Wes dad. And when he thought Wes wasn't looking, he would sneak furtive glances at him. Now Wes understood why.

_How difficult it must be for him, _Wes thought. _And yet, he's never said a word…_ Wes is broken from his musings by the sound of the alarm.

"We'll go," Adam said. "We're the only complete team left."

"_It's Morphin' Time!"_

"_Magical Source, Mystic Force__!"_

"_Dinothunder, power up, ha!"_

_Ninja Storm, Ranger form!"_

"_SPD Emergency!"_

…_**...**_

Kim was trying to get some sleep. Adam was worried she wasn't getting enough, and he wasn't shy about saying so. The problem was that her nightmares were getting worse. After she retired from her days as a Ranger, they had lessened, though they had never disappeared completely.

After the formation of SPD, Ranger identities became public knowledge, as almost every Ranger, former and current at the time, joined the organization. This made it possible for Kim to start going to therapy, and be fully candid about her past as Earth's first pink Ranger. Through those sessions, she was able to cope with her nightmares.

But now they were worse. Each night, they became more vivid. And Adam wasn't with her at the moment. She'd finally told, after the third week running of him waking up to her screaming, she told him about her nightmares. Rather, _nightmare_. It was always the same one, but it varied. Every night when she went to sleep, she found herself back inside Samurai Fanman's gourd, trapped in his dimension, with no way out. Her friends failed to save her, and she disappeared forever. Other times, the gourd was destroyed with her still inside, and she shattered into tiny pieces. Sometimes, she dreamed of Muranthias. She dreamed of being lowered in into the lava pit, and becoming evil. Only this time, the wizard Lerigot failed to turn her good again, and she and Jason, as Dark Spectre's lieutenants, led him to victory.

When she finally retired, she decided to distance herself as much as she could from her past. That was why she never answered Adam's letters; because she didn't want remember. Writing back would have been an acknowledgement, an acceptance that everything she had tried to suppress had happened, that it was _real_. But she had never really forgotten.

But she could never keep herself from reading Adam's letters. As much as she wanted to forget, she desperately wanted to remember. Remember the good times. Adam's letters did that for her. They were never upsetting. They were her link to the good parts of her past. Even then, Adam had kept her sane. She slept easier now, when Adam stayed with her. She felt safe.

Adam knew all her secrets now, save one. He didn't know the reason why she joined SPD. It was the one thing she knew she could _never_ tell him.

In the end, she gave up trying to sleep, and decided instead to explore the Power Chamber while she waited for Adam and the others to get back. She had spent much time here, when it was called the Command Center. But this incarnation was different from the one she remembered. Adam had told her that the original Command Center was destroyed, shortly before the adoption of the Zeo powers. The Power Chamber was then summarily rebuilt twice, refitted with the most powerful of supercomputers, so that the chamber could house the Zeo and Turbo powers.

As she walked, she noticed Tommy coming towards her. Kim sighed. For many weeks now, he'd been trying to get her alone, to talk to her about something. They hadn't talked in years, not even after that incident at Muranthias, so she had a good idea what he wanted to talk about, and she'd been trying to avoid it. She hadn't thought she'd be able to give him a satisfactory answer, why she wrote that letter. Besides, if he'd **really** wanted an answer, why didn't he seek her out?

But she believed she could now.

She hadn't lied exactly. She had been seeing someone at the time. And for a while he seemed nice, but he turned out to be a complete jerk. There were others guys, but none of them had been interested in the long haul, and it was over pretty quick. For the most part, her love life was uninteresting.

Why did she decide to leave Tommy? Because she'd realized that to Tommy, being a Ranger was everything. Seriously. The man had taken up the power what, five times now? It was ridiculous. Tommy was a soldier, and it was all he would _ever_ be. She wanted, _needed_ something more. Someone to who the fight wasn't everything. Someone who could walk away from it as easily as he charged into it. Someone who could _move on._ Adam had that.

So as Tommy began to speak, mentioning something about how long it'd been since they'd spoken, and how some things were left unsaid, she cut him off.

"I outgrew you," she said, and walked away.

…_**...**_

The came back about an hour later, each baring minor injuries. And they brought a friend; Dustin, the Yellow Ninja Wind Ranger was with them.

"We were lucky you showed up when you did," Adam told him. "We couldn't have taken that thing without you."

"Like, no problem dude," Dustin said in reply. "I'd actually been tracking him for a while. He sorta found where the Ninja Academy is, so it was like, super important I caught him."

Tori smiled. "Secrecy is one of the utmost tenants of ninjutsu," she said. "And it's become more important now. The longer the academy's location is secret, the longer Sensei and the ninjas can stand against Zedd."

"We've had a hell of a time of it as it is," Dustin said. "Zedd's had Blue Bay Harbor under siege for months now, and his generals get closer to us everyday. We've been able to hold them so far, misdirect their raids and things, but it won't be long now."

"How long do you have?" Xander asked. "Do you need to go back right away?"

"I can stay awhile. Cam's totally got everything under control."

"In that case, pick a room," Adam told him, smiling.

…_**...**_

_Animarium was burning. The Temple of Power was destroyed. Images of cataclysm and death and destruction sped through Adam's mind. And at the end of it all, a pair of glowing, emerald eyes._

"_Come," Kaeru commanded._

Adam woke with a start.

_Damn it. _


	20. Destiny

**Sorry it took so long. Please Review.**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY: DESTINY

Things were finally looking up for the Power Rangers. After months in a comatose state, Syd and Z were finally conscious. They were a little disoriented, but fine otherwise. Sky had returned with the Zeo crystals. With the infusion of Power completed, the dissipation process stopped. What's more, the Power accelerated Lucas's rate of healing: he was up and about again. SPD was back, with three complete Ranger teams, a base, and a bay of zords at its disposal. And it wasn't alone. SPD was now working alongside the Ninja Academy and Tommy's contacts on KO-35, Triforia, and Aquitar. They were now a force strong enough to stand against Zedd's fledgling empire, which now stretched beyond the Northern Hemisphere, its regime enforced by the newly formed United Evil Alliance.

It was not the UAE of old, as most of its original members were either dead or turned to beings of light by Zordon's energy wave. Its new roster included Emperor Grumm, who Lord Zedd had freed from imprisonment, along with King Sprocket and Master Vile. While they _were _members of the original UAE, they had been galaxies away when Zordon's energy was released and Dark Spectre's forces met their demise. General Venjix was reconstructed, and was given the new incarnation of Serpentera to use as he saw fit. Though under the direct command of Sprocket, the new Machine King, ultimately, Venjix answered to Zedd.

* * *

Adam stood in the zord bay, turbulent thoughts running rampant through his head. SPD was strong again. Three full teams stood at the ready, able to fight at a moment's notice. They had a base that had sheltered three generations of Rangers; a base that, despite being destroyed twice, had stood the test of war. It had been beaten, but never taken. They had a small army of zords at their disposal. They had allies now, on Earth and elsewhere.

And yet, Adam's nightmares continued to plague him. Visions so horrific that he often awoke screaming. Bridge had taken to avoiding him completely, his empathic ability lethal to him in the Black Ranger's presence. The dream always ended in the same way: Kaeru's pool-like eyes, his mysterious command:

"_Come."_

That one word meant as much to him today as it did the day he first heard it: absolutely nothing. What was it that he was supposed to do! It was driving him mad, knowing that there was something he could do to prevent the end of existence, and yet not knowing how to do it.

Someone approached Adam, linked their arm through his.

"I thought I might find you here," Kim said. "Did you have the dream again?"

After the third night waking up screaming, Adam had told Kim everything; his experience with his animal spirit, Kaeru, during his coma. His nightmares since. Everything.

He had no secrets from Kimberly.

She took his hand in hers, and squeezed it. "You okay?"

He squeezed back. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"About?"

"About what I'm supposed to do. The Sentinel Knight brought me here for a reason. Kaeru seems to know that reason. I'm the only one left in the dark!

"I just really, _really_ want to go home."

Kim said nothing. Adam heard her sniffle, and turned to see tears in Kim's eyes.

"Kim? What's wrong?" he asked, instantly worried.

She looked up at him. "I need to tell you something," she said.

"Okay…"

"When I first ran into you and asked you where you'd been all these years, you told me, that you were here, in 2027, remember?"

"Yeah…"

"The moment you told me that, I realized something."

"What?"

"Adam. If you'd gone back after this was all over, don't you think the Sentinel Knight would have left at the exact moment in time that you'd left? I've _lived_ through that past, Adam. I should be able to remember you going back, telling me your story.

"But I don't, Adam. I don't."

Adam wasn't stupid; he could see where she was going.

"You don't get to go home," Kimberly said, crying in earnest now. "You die here**."**


	21. Dawn of Destiny

**Please Review**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: DAWN OF DESTINY

Adam opened his eyes and for the first time since he arrived in the future, he was angry. Angry, because Kaeru had just confirmed it: he had been sent to the future to die. That was the master plan, the great design, the grand destiny that the Sentinel Knight had planned for him.

"_Zedd's power is great. He has grown far more powerful than before, thanks in no small part to the magic of the Corona. You plan to storm Newtech City and steal the crown, depending on your revitalized strength to see you through._

"_It will not work."_

"_Why?" Adam asked._

"_Zedd has built a fortress where Space Patrol Delta once stood. He has placed many enchantments about its perimeter: no living thing may pass through them." _

_Kaeru's eyes bored into Adam's. "No living thing, Black Ranger," he said, quite dispassionately._

_Adam clenched his fists. "So it's true then?" he asked._

_Kaeru nodded. "You must die. Only as a spirit will you be able to gain access to Zedd's new palace."_

"_Why me?" _

"_You are one of Zordon's chosen, and the last who still bears the power coin. As such, your power cannot be stripped from you; you will need it when the time comes."_

"_My powers can be taken away. I lost them before."_

_Kaeru shook his head. "The coin was broken, and the Power weakened, yet were you not able to use it? Were you not able to use that power, and become the Black Ranger once more?"_

_Adam said nothing._

"_Once you accepted the powers of the Ninja, the power became tied to you. The coin became nothing more than a medium, the channel through which the Power was brought forth. __**You**__ became the source of your own power._

"_As long as you exist, the power of the Black Ranger will belong solely to you; it cannot be taken from you. When you die, it goes with you."_

"_And why is my power so important?"_

"_Your power is the Key," Kaeru said mysteriously. "Know this, Black Ranger: without your death, the others will fail, and the universe as you've come to know it will no longer exist._

"_**You must die."**__ And with that, Kaeru ended their communion, leaving Adam to his thoughts. _

Whatever happened to making your own destiny? Adam thought bitterly. It was a mantra that, through Wes's encouragement and his own experiences, he had fully embraced. It seems now that they had been wrong. You couldn't shape your destiny. It was planned for you, by powers beyond your ability to influence.

* * *

He sat at one of the computers, running diagnostics on the zords, going over their various damage reports. It was increasingly dull, but at least it was distracting.

He sensed her before he saw her. That happened a lot recently. It seemed that the more time they spent together, the more their animal spirits grew attuned to one another. (While the coin, zord, and power went to Kat, the Crane spirit remained bonded to Kimberly.)

He smiled up at her. At first, he'd been mad that she'd kept his fate a secret for so long. Then he realized that she'd joined SPD specifically to protect him, and he couldn't stay mad at her anymore.

She threw her arms around the chair, hugging him from behind.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Going over damage reports," he replied.

She snorted. "BOR-ING."

He laughed. "I know. But I needed to do _something_, so here I am."

Kim hesitated. "How are you?"

Adam paused to think before answering. "As well as can be expected."

Kim thought about that for a second, decided that was all she was going to get, and changed the subject.

"Mack woke up this morning."

"He did?"

"Kim nodded. "He can't really talk, his voice comes out all raspy. All he does is drink. He's had about three gallons of water in the last two hours alone."

Thinking about everything that had happened to his friend, his imprisonment in the Dark Dimension, got Adam angry again. Then he thought of Z and Syd, of Lucas, and all the nameless people Zedd had hurt.

His hands clenched into fists.

Kim noticed.

She knelt down beside him, took his face in her hands. She knew Adam, and she was worried.

"Don't do anything stupid," she said softly. Then, her lips ever so gently grazed his. "Some of us want to see you make it out of this alive."

Adam smiled at her, hoping it was reassuring, knowing it was a lie.

Because he had already made his decision.

It was something he'd already been leaning towards, but the kiss sealed his decision.

"_Without your death, the others will fail, and the universe as you've come to know it will no longer exist." _

That was what Kaeru had said. And despite his best efforts to avoid doing so, it was all Adam could think about. Only by his death could the universe be saved. By his death, his friends would be spared. _**She **_would be spared.

He didn't have to die. He could choose to ignore Kaeru and the Sentinel Knight's plans. But if he did so, there was a good chance that nothing would be left of the world. If he chose to die, the world might be saved. And that was test:

_**The choice was his.**_

Adam would die. Not because he was told to. Because he chose to. He was shaping his destiny.

* * *

Adam was out alone, perusing the poetry books at his favorite bookstore.

He was ambushed as he left by a Putty Patrol, Goldar at their head. He destroyed the Putties with ease, and morphed to deal with Goldar. He knew he could take his time; He knew from Kaeru that Dimitria would not interfere. She would not send the others.

One poorly executed lunge and the Black Ranger was disarmed. He was thrown back onto the ground.

Beneath the visor, Adam closed his eyes and saw no more.


	22. Old Friend

**Please Review.**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: OLD FRIEND

Zeo Ranger Five stood in the doorway, rigid and impassive as stone, watching as Kim cradled Adam's body. He'd been the one to find him, while he was out on patrol.

"It was a surprise attack," he heard Dimitria explain. "By the time I was made aware of it, it was too late."

Beneath the pentacled visor, Wes' brow furrowed. There were a lot of holes to that story. For one thing, Adam had been ambushed by putties. And from what Zeo Five could tell, Adam rid himself of their company quite easily. And Goldar? Please. Adam had faced off against him hundreds of times and survived, their last two encounters notwithstanding.

Adam's Power Axe had been lying yards away from him. And that too, was a problem. Zeo Five had sparred with the Black Ranger countless times…and had never been able to disarm him.

So the question then becomes… how had Goldar managed to?

Sky stood next to Zeo Five, shaking, though he shed no tears. Zeo Five put on hand on his shoulder, consoling him.

Beneath the visor, Wes blinked back tears.

* * *

The magus was dressed in a white tunic as he strolled through the garden. He had lived there for some time now, but he still had trouble adjusting, trouble believing it. That he could walk with his legs and touch with his hands, after having spent countless centuries in the vilest kind of prison. He was powerful again, his skin rejuvenated, restored from its pasty, weathered look, the result of his imprisonment in that awful place, that limbo.

As he walked, his thoughts turned to Adam Park, the Black Ranger. He had recently made a momentous decision. He had chosen well, but his journey was not over yet. The two of them had yet to come together. Yes, the _two_ of them; even the Sentinel Knight did not perceive the whole of what was to be, what needed to be. Adam would need her before the end.

The magus came to a stop before a bed of roses. As he stared at the man laying there, he could not help smile, thinking that he had chosen well.

"Hello, old friend," he said, bringing the other out of his sleep.

Adam opened his eyes. They searched, trying to find a recognizable landmark. He stared in shock at the man before him.

Zordon smiled.


	23. Crown and Punishment

**Sorry it took so long. Please Review. I finally broke 3000 words, yay!**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: CROWN AND PUNISHMENT

"Specs are green," Zeo Five supplied from the cockpit of the Red Zeo Battlezord. "We're good to go, Commander."

"Good," the Red Time Force Ranger replied from the cockpit of the Tigerzord. He looked out over at the others. Adam's team in the Mega Thunderzord, Wes' aboard the Super Zeozords, Eric on board Pyramidas, the SPD Rangers in the Turbo Megazord, and Dustin in his Lion Zord.

Today, SPD would take back Newtech City. They would make Zedd pay for his crimes, for the death of their friend. Today, it would all end.

Kaeru opened his eyes. "It has begun."

The Sentinel Knight nodded. "I know. They will not succeed, it is with Adam that hope lies.

"The question becomes, do we help them, or leave them to die alone?"

Kaeru said nothing.

* * *

Adam could not believe what he was seeing. He was staring at Zordon, his mentor; the man who had taught him what it meant to be a Ranger. But this was not the Zordon he remembered. This Zordon was whole, unencumbered by the imprisonment he'd borne for so long. He had a body, and he radiated far more power now than he ever did in life. If he was here, then that could only mean one thing...his plan had worked.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

"In a manner of speaking," Zordon replied with a smile.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"It depends on your definition of death. If you define death as the loss of your physical body, then yes, Adam, you are dead. But, if you define death as the end of your existence, then I think it is safe to say that you are not."

"Spare me the _Harry Potter_ act," Adam said. "You know what I mean."

Zordon laughed, sending Adam back to his days as a teenager, as Earth's second Black Ranger and, later on, its second Green Ranger. The sound of their mentor's laugh,low and vibrant, the sound of pride in his Rangers, an acknowledgment of a job well done: the sound of a father proud of his children.

"You are far bolder than you used to be, old friend," Zordon said, smiling. "It suits you."

Adam ignored that. As much as he loved Zordon, he hadn't come here for a reunion. He didn't even know where _here_ was.

"Is this where people go when they die?" he asked.

"No. This is where _I _went when _I_ died."

Adam made a questioning gesture.

"A man's final destination is unique unto himself; it is the manifestation of all that he is, the embodiment of his soul. I have no idea where _you _will go when the time comes.

"No, you are here because I brought you, summoned your soul from beyond the veil, while it was still in the world of life. You are here because it is necessary: you are here so I can tell what you must do."

Adam nodded. He was finally going to get some answers. "So? What do I need to do?"

Zordon smiled again. "Not so quick, Adam. As it happens, we are one person short. Let's wait until she arrives, shall we?"

* * *

The Turbo Megazord crashed to the ground. Its chest was rent apart, revealing the circuitry beneath the chassis; the right arm was missing, the power sword forgotten amidst the debris. Within the cockpit, the SPD Rangers struggled to get Turbo Megazord to its feet.

SPD Blue had been weary of piloting this zord into battle, she would have preferred the Crane, or the Pterodactyl. Out of all of them, only SPD Green had any experience with the Turbo technology. Sky had hoped that the Turbo Megazord's similarity to the SPD Megazord would make things easier.

It didn't.

There was no help for them. Time Force Red and the Tigerzord, and Zeo Five and the Red Battlezord were engaged against Serpenterra. The Super Zeozords were taking a beating from the base itself, which had transformed into a massive zord. Mega Thunderzord and Pyramidas were keeping the S.W.A.T. Flyers at bay. The Lion Zord had been taken out of commission early on.

The SPD Megazord surged forward, sword in hand, to deliver the final blow...just as it was struck by a fireball.

Turbo Megazord lurched to a standing position.

Time Force Red's voice came over the intercom. _"Are you guys all right?"_

"Yeah," SPD Green replied. "Thanks for that."

"_Thank Sabba, he was the one who sensed you were in danger."_

Beneath the visor, Tommy smiled, it seemed his link to his old friend was still strong.

Just then another voice was heard over the intercom.

"_Sky, watch out!"_ The SPD Rangers watched in horror as the Red Battlezord stepped in front of the Tigerzord...and took Serpenterra's blast head on.

The zord crumbled. It fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Zeo Five scrambled out of the pilot's seat and ran to the door. It would not open. The locking mechanism, installed on every zord after the Green Ranger had invaded the original Megazord all those years ago, was damaged; it did not recognize him as the Battlezord's pilot. He un-holstered the Zeo Pistol and fired at the zord's visor, hoping to break the glass. The shots did nothing. The flashing lights on his console turned crimson.

Beneath the pentacled visor, Wes sighed and closed his eyes, resigning himself to the inevitable.

"_Wes,"_ he heard Sky say. _"Why?"_

Wes smiled a sad smile. How could he ever begin to explain? In the months that he had known Sky, he had come to respect him, as both a Ranger and a man. Rangers look out for one another.

But it was more than that now. He and Eric were not subjected to the dissipation process. Their counterparts in this universe were dead, they no longer existed: there was no one to take them over. They were, in effect, the _new_ Wesley Collins and Eric Myers.

The timeline tried to accommodate the newly living Red and Quantum Time Force Rangers by infusing them with the memories of their departed counterparts, to make them Wesley Collins and Eric Myers in fact as well as name.

Wes dealt with it better than Eric, who chose to barricade himself in his room at the Power Chamber. It was understandable. It's disconcerting, to suddenly discover that you have memories of events and experiences that you _knew _were not your own. To wake up one day and remember vividly and candidly how you died.

They told no one. Things had been bad enough, with Lucas, Syd and Z still comatose at time, and Jen and the others on the verge of disappearing forever.

Through his new memories, Wes had come to view Sky as more than just a man, more than just a Ranger. He'd come to view Sky as his son. The child who loved to ride on his shoulders, who refused to cry when he skinned his knee, shedding silent tears, who begged to train with him everyday, to which he'd always answered, "When you're older, Sky." Wes, who had at first been cold and distant to Sky, as he had been to everyone, had finally come to love his son.

But how could he explain any of that to a man he'd only known for a few months time? Even though he had known him all his life?

In the end, Wes answered in the only way he could. "Goodbye, son."

The Battlezord exploded, and Wesley Collins was was no more.

Inside the cockpit of Pyramidas, the Gold Ranger felt his stomach clench. Through his new memories, Eric still lived through the pain of losing Wes to Mirloc...and following soon after. To lose him _again_...

The Gold Ranger shook his head, clearing it of all thought, of all pain. There would be time for that later.

Sky was in shock, staring at the flames which burned where the Red Zeo Battlezord stood not moments ago.

_He called me son,_ Sky thought. _He called me son._ He couldn't understand how that was possible. He _knew_ Alternate Wes was not his father, he'd agonized over it from the moment of his arrival.

_He called me son._ His heart, however, which many people, Syd being the exception, thought had died long ago, did not care for such logic. The wound his father's death had caused opened anew, leaving a gaping hole.

_He called me son._ Sky had lost his father all over again.

"_Sky!"_ Syd's voice yelled over the intercom. He heard nothing. He saw nothing. He felt nothing but his own, all-consuming pain. He didn't even notice as the Tigerzord was dealt a fatal blow, exposing the cockpit.

He didn't feel it as the the next blast seared away his flesh, leaving nothing but bone.

SPD Pink was in tears. The others had to restrain her as she leapt out of her seat, her hand reaching out to where the Tigerzord had stood. The SPD Megazord came forward again. With Sky and Wes gone, and Dustin's zord in need of serious maintenance and the the remaining zords occupied, there was no one to save them this time. The Turbo Megazord was knocked down again.

The sword came at them. Again. And again. And again. Kimberly closed her eyes and saw no more.

* * *

"Her?" Adam asked, confused, just as he was struck by a crippling pain in his chest. It was as if someone had ripped his heart out. He did not know it, but light years away on the planet Eltar, Kaeru also suffered, agonizing as he was torn asunder. He crumpled to the ground.

Gradually, soul and spirit came back to themselves.

"What just happened!" Adam demanded.

Zordon did not answer. He stood perfectly still, as rigid and immovable as stone. His eyes glowed with a golden light.

The light dimmed, and he smiled. "She is here." He helped Adam to his feet. "Come."

Adam followed Zordon to another bed of flowers, violets this time.

Kimberly was laying in them.

Kimberly opened her eyes, and noticed immediately that she was not in the Turbo Megazord anymore. She wasn't morphed either. She was in some kind of garden, but she had no idea how she got there. The last thing she remembered was the SPD Megazord bringing its sword to bear...then blackness.

She stood, looked around...and her eyes landed on Adam. He was standing a few ways off, staring, apparently in shock.

And she knew. She knew she was dead. But that didn't stop her heart from pounding when she saw him. It didn't stop her from running and throwing her arms him. All it meant was that she would spend eternity with the man she loved.

Adam, for his part, hugged her back just as fiercely. He had no idea how this had happened between them, no idea how they managed to become closer, how they managed to become what he'd always hoped they would be. It had just..._happened_. And he was glad it did.

A low chuckle broke them both out of their private musings. Kim turned towards the sound, and almost cried at the sight of the man before her. The man who had given her a second home, a family. The man who had been a father to her in so many real ways.

"It is good to see you again, Kimberly," Zordon said.

"And you," she replied. "But how is this possible? Why are we here?"

"I'd like an answer to that as well," Adam said.

"You are here because you both have a job to do," Zordon said. "The two of you must enter the SPD Base and retrieve the _Corona Aurora._ By doing so, you will effectively end Zedd's reign on earth, and return everything to the way it once was."

"But how?" Kim asked. "We already tried storming Newtech City and taking back the base. That's how I got here."

Adam stiffened beside her. He'd died so he could prevent the deaths of his friends. Too late, it seemed.

"How many?" he asked in a whisper.

Kim took his hand in hers and gripped it tight. "Wes and Sky. The five of us in the Turbo Megazord. Maybe Dustin. His zord went down early on, but it didn't implode or anything...he just never came out."

She looked around again. "Why aren't the others here?"

"They have moved on," Zordon replied. "They have become one with the Power. As I said, _you_ are here because your part is not yet done. Zedd placed many enchantments around his new home. No living thing may pass them."

"But we did," Kimberly pointed out.

Zordon shook his head. "Your _zords_ did. Zords are machines. A spirit may be channeled into them, they may be given a soul and intelligence, but they are not technically alive, with the exception of the Galactabeasts and the Wildzords.

"The two of you are no longer living. This will allow you to move through the base undetected , and retrieve the Crown: Zedd's spells will not harm you or touch you in any way. He has grown arrogant in his triumph; he does not respect or fear death as he once did. It is the flaw you will use to your advantage.

"Remember this, Rangers, as it is of vital importance. Once inside the base, the two of you must morph. You _must."_

"Why?" Kim asked.

"Your powers are the key," Zordon replied as he handed her the pink power coin. "Go now, and may the Power protect you."

* * *

Before they could ask anything else, Adam and Kimberly were sent back to Newtech City. The Base was no longer in zord mode.

The Super Zeozords were gone. The Mega Thunderzord and Pyramidas were the only zords still standing.

The spectres of the Pink and Black Dino Rangers roamed through the war zone, past the wreckage of the Tigerzord and Red Battlezord, the scarred,burned body of the once proud Lion Zord...and the Dragonzord.

"Looks like he managed to call for help before the end," Adam said. Kim said nothing.

They entered the base together.

"Ready?" Adam asked. Kim nodded.

"_It's Morphin' Time!"_

"_Pterodactyl!"_

"_Mastodon!"_

And suddenly, the Black Ranger understood. As he stood there, flexing his hand, feeling his heart beat again, feeling the blood rush through his body again, the answer came to him. He knew now what Kaeru had meant, why the Sentinel Knight had chosen to restore his original set of powers.

"_**You are one of Zordon's Chosen, and the last who still bears the power coin. That power draws its strength from you, you are the source of your own power. While you **__**exist,**__**it will never leave you.**_

"_**Your power is the key."**_

The powers of the Black Ranger were his. They drew life from him. He _gave_ them life. And now, those same powers had given _him_ life.

Filled with hope and life, the Pink and Black Rangers went back to action.

The base was empty. No Tengas. No Putties. Zedd's generals were busy with the battle outside. Mega Thunderzord had managed to cripple Serpenterra, so Zedd sent his monsters out as back-up.

And yet, the sounds of battle could be heard within the halls, the clang of sword against staff.

The Sentinel Knight crashed through one of the walls, landing in a heap. The Sword Excelsior, which had also been restored by the mystic energies of the Morphing Grid, fell from his hand.

The Black Ranger approached his friend. "Sentinel Knight!"

"Adam," he said weakly. "You are here at last." He looked at the Pink Ranger. "And Kimberly, too.

"What are you up to now, Zordon?" the knight said to himself softly.

"Well, _this_ is most certainly an interesting turn of events," a voice behind them growled. The Pink and Black Rangers turned to see Lord Zedd standing before them.

"I thought you were dead, Black Ranger."

"Not anymore." If Zedd had any eyebrows, he probably would have raised one at that comment. As it was, he simply stared.

"That's the last time I trust that metal-plated fool to do anything," Zedd said. "No matter... I will simply finish you myself!"

Lord Zedd lunged, and Black Ranger parried the blow with his ax. Pink Ranger shot arrows at Lord Zedd. With a wave of his hand, the arrows changed direction...and hit Pink Ranger square in the chest.

She fell.

Filled with rage, the Black Ranger attacked Lord Zedd with a ferocity that scared even him, the self-proclaimed Master of the Universe. The Ranger's blows were so hard that every impact notched his ax and forced Zedd backward.

The Black Ranger raised his ax for a final blow, pouring all of his strength into it.

The ax came down and shattered Zedd's staff, forcing him to the ground...and the Crown to topple from his head.

"No!" Zedd screamed, but it was already too late: he had begun to revert, until he was nothing more than mist.

Adam demorphed, and placed the _Corona Aurora_ atop his head. He wanted Zedd to fade from the universe forever, and willed the crown's magic to make it so. He watched as the remnants of Lord Zedd disappeared completely.

He knelt by Kimberly, who had gone through a forced demorph when the arrows hit her.

She took his hand and said, "I love you. I needed to say it, before-"

Adam put a finger to her lips, silencing her. "I love you too." He willed the Crown's magic to heal her. But before the process could begin, he was accosted by the Sentinel Knight.

"It's time to go old friend," he said., taking the Crown. Adam struggled, he had to save her! But the knight's grip was strong. Kim disappeared, and Adam saw nothing but darkness.


	24. Home

_**Back in Black**_** trailer is up on youtube, the link is on my profile. ****I want to thank everyone who stuck with this story, despite my long gaps between updates, it really means a lot to me. Enjoy!**

**Please review.**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: HOME

When sight returned to him, Adam found himself in some sort of amphitheater. He saw Kaeru standing off to the side. The spirit did not acknowledge him; he kept clutching at his chest, as though trying to hold on to something that was no longer there.

He knew the feeling. In a sudden fit of rage rounded on Sentinel Knight, who had been standing next to him, and pinned him to one of the pillars with his arm.

"How could you?" Adam roared. "I could have helped her!" His mind sprang back, to the image of her lying in his arms, fading. "She could still be alive if it wasn't for you!"

"Adam..." the knight's breath fell short; Adam's hold was constricting his airway.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. Adam turned to see that there were others here, wherever _here_ was.

Seated around him were Dimitria, Ninjor, and Rit- the Mystic Mother.

"Hello, Black Ranger," she said now. "It has been a long time."

"It is good to see you again, Adam," Dimitria supplied.

Ninjor spoke next, saying, "You have done well, Black Ranger; you are truly worthy of the mantle of ninja."

"Where am I?" Adam asked, releasing Sentinel Knight as curiosity got the better of him. "What is this place?"

"We are on Eltar," Dimitria replied. "We are in the chambers of the Eltaran Council."

He was on Eltar. Zordon's home planet. On any other day, he would considered it an honor, a privilege to set foot here.

Not today.

"You are here," Dimitria continued. "So that we may offer you a proposition."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "A proposition?"

Mystic Mother nodded. " You saved the world, Black Ranger. You did so with great personal sacrifice...and without complaint. You did what had to be done, and you did it with honor.

"Such actions deserve a fitting reward."

"A reward?"

Ninjor nodded. "We are known as Beings of Power, Black Ranger, because we not use use the Power, but we also bestow on others. We are keepers of a wondrous legacy, guardians of the universe."

Ninjor motioned to the empty chair beside him. "Since Zordon's death, we have been short of a colleague."

Sentinel Knight spoke. "Join us, Adam; become a Being of Power."

Adam said nothing. He was too angry. The men and women before him were all powerful, and apparently, aware of everything that had happened. They _let _it happen, content to leave all in the hands of their disciples, no, their _tools_.

_What do they care if any of us die?_ Adam thought bitterly. _They can just pass on the Power to someone else._

The only one who had cared, truly cared for the Rangers he'd chosen, was Zordon, and he was gone.

Adam's grip tightened, his palm biting into the spires of the Crown.

The Crown. The _Corona Aurora._ He was still holding it! Would it work? Did he have to wear the Crown for its magic to function, or did he merely have to be holding it?

"We need an answer, Black Ranger," the Mystic Mother said.

Adam concentrated, and felt the magic course through him. He smiled. He had the Crown, and with it, he would shape his destiny. There was only one here who could stop him...

Adam and Kaeru locked eyes, brown staring into the pools of green. They stayed that way for a moment, until at last the spirit smiled, bowing his head.

Adam turned to the others. "Thank you for your offer, but I politely decline." And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Adam landed on a rooftop in Newtech City. It would happen soon, he knew. He wasn't worried about Sentinel Knight or the others following. The Crown gave him dominion over everything, and it was an easy enough thing to stop them from pursuing.

Adam morphed, and the Black Dino Ranger stood in his place.

_Right on time, _Black Ranger thought as he headed towards the explosion.

Quantum Ranger was thrown back, then vaulted forward onto the ground as Mirloc emerged from the building behind him and attacked. Blue Astro charged forward, but was easily swept aside, then absorbed into the twin mirrors embedded in Mirloc's chest.

_Now it's got T.J. too,_ Time Force Red thought bleakly as he charged, Chrono Sabers in hand. _Don't worry, Jase, Teej, I'll get you out of there, I promise._

Just as he was about to strike, the ground split asunder between them, and the resulting shock wave sent both he and Mirloc flying.

There was smoke and and stone and earth everywhere.

There was a yell of pain, and then Time Force Red caught a glimpse of sword: its hilt was red.

The smoke cleared, and Red Dino and Blue Astro were free!

_But how?_ Behind the visor, Wesley Collins' brow furrowed. Then he saw it, and fell to his knees at the sight: the great axe embedded in Mirloc's twin mirrors.

More of the smoke cleared, and there the Black Ranger stood, alive and well...with a crown hanging from his belt.

Quantum Ranger struggled to his feet. "Uh...Wes? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing, or did I hit my head too hard?"

"I think we both did," Time Force Red replied. It couldn't be Adam. Adam was dead. _It couldn't be him._.

But those moves...

Mirloc wrenched the axe from his chest., and charged at the newcomer. The Black Ranger easily dodged him: the alien relied too much on his mirrors; without them, he was defenseless. A few well placed punches had him on the ground again.

"Well?" Black Dino called to his Red counterpart. "What are you waiting for?"

Red Dino stared at him some more, then sprang to life, calling on the Canine Cannon. It was set up, fired, and Mirloc was contained.

The Black Ranger demorphed, leaving Adam in his place. The others followed suit.

Wes asked the question they were all dying to know the answer to. "Adam? Is that really you?"

"Yeah."

"How in the..."

"I don't have the time to explain," Adam said, cutting Wes off. "I have one other thing to do. Say hi to Sky for me, okay?"

Wes stared at him in surprise... then smiled, understanding.

"How the hell..." T.J. muttered.

And then Adam was gone.

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Kimberly opened it... and almost had a heart attack.

"Hi," Adam said.

He put a finger to her lips before she could begin the inevitable questions. He took her hand and brought it to the Crown. The instant the two touched, she remembered. Everything.

There were tears in Kimberly's eyes as she embraced the man she loved.

As Adam returned the embrace and gently brought his lips to hers, he couldn't help but smile, content with the knowledge that now, here in this moment, he was finally, _finally_ home.


End file.
